Presentation on Map Reviews Nearby

Northern Cafe in Irvine

4.2 (105) 4175 Campus Dr, Irvine, CA 92612, United States

Location on the map

Irvine, Orange County, California, US

Phone: +1 949-418-7309
Site: https://northerncafeirvine.com/

Opening hours

Monday:11 AM–9:30 PM
Tuesday:11 AM–9:30 PM
Wednesday:11 AM–9:30 PM
Thursday:11 AM–9:30 PM
Friday:11 AM–9:30 PM
Saturday:11 AM–9:30 PM
Sunday:11 AM–9 PM

Edit info

Total reviews rating 4.2

105 Reviews for Northern Cafe 2024:

Review №1

2023-09-04 15:40:27

If you are looking for delicious and yet affordable food? This is your place! There is lots of seating indoors and outdoor for all the party size. It is located right near UCI. Everything we got was sooo good! They have such a variety of dishes! I highly recommend the popcorn chicken and the garlic pork ribs! They are even better then next day!!

Review №2

2023-12-08 09:47:49

My go-to spot in the university town center – their mala pot is a winner! Generous portions, a variety of options, and it hits the spot for that post-meal satisfaction. The spice level is just right. Beyond the mala, the dumplings and regular dishes are well-cooked. While it might not win as a fancy restaurant, it definitely triumphs in location and is my preferred after-class hangout!

Review №3

2023-07-19 03:47:40

Highly recommend the beef roll, golden soup beef noodle and the mapo tofu. They overcooked the string beans to the point they resembled jerky but everything else was delicious. Great service and we got our food quickly. Has a clean bathroom as well.

Review №4

2023-11-21 20:31:53

Portions are goodBeef wrap roll was okay - not enough sauce and the meat was cold cutPopcorn chicken was goodBbq pork bun was blandBeef juicy dumplings was goodSpicy wontons was standardThe tom yum hot pot was averageOverall 3.5 stars

Review №5

2023-09-07 21:52:07

I keep coming back here for the hot and sour soup! So delicious! The atmosphere is nice. Just be careful where you sit because one time I noticed that the condensation from the air conditioning was dripping onto my table from above.

Review №6

2023-10-27 06:04:44

First time visiting this Cafe. The food tasted very authentic and fresh. We ordered the Thai noodles and chicken fried dumplings. They were soo good. Definitely going back and referring Northen Cafe to my friends.

Review №7

2022-12-19 03:32:31

Good food and large portion sizes! Came here with friends and was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the food here. The orange chicken was fried perfectly and so juicy. The spicy beef pot was good but I wish it were a bit saltier. I really enjoyed the green beans. They were savory, garlicky, and tender. I wish they gave rice with some of the entrees (they only gave one bowl of rice for the spicy pot). The rice was good but a bit hard.

Review №8

2023-05-15 02:34:51

Definitely not my cup of tea. We bowed up in 8 got a table and had to decide what to get as you have to order at the cash register and take a number. They have a selection noddle bowls and soups and fried rice and other Chinese fare. The food came out fairly fast. I would say the vegetable dishes were the best. The chicken in the dishes have the skin on which might be tradistiinal but not to my tasting. Fairly busy in a Sunday night but again not my cup of tea and likely next time will go to eureka next door. $65 for 4.

Review №9

2023-09-18 07:46:54

Such yummy food here. The employees are nice also. Take a look at the menu and then go up and order. You get a number and they will bring your food out to you. We had the Chinese Pork Pancake, the Chinese Pork sandwich, the Orange Chicken, And the Tomato Beef Noodle Soup with Pan Fried Egg. Everything was delicious! We are definitely coming back here again.

Review №10

2022-11-10 00:42:33

It is as my first time eating here. Loved the service and the ambience. I got the Tomato Beef Noodles and Thai Tea. Noodles was a little underwhelming but quite filling. I probably wouldnt get it again. Loved the Thai Tea. I would definitely go back and try some other dishes and the Tea!

Review №11

2023-02-15 04:23:14

Soup was spicy and good flavor!The beef was tough - I would reorder the houses special “beef noodle soup” again.No issues with anything but the beef.I will definitely return to try other dishes.

Review №12

2022-11-05 02:46:22

Quiet place in a corner of the University Center, conveniently located near the parking. We tried a few dishes and there is more to be explored. So far a good experience if you are looking for a quick bite or need a decent place for a get together.

Review №13

2022-11-14 02:03:46

I normally order this place on Doordash so I wanted to try the in person experience. It was great! You order at the counter then sit to get your hot food. Its a few notches better than ordering online. The food is sooo good and beers are cheap. The staff at the counter was really appreciative for their tip. I would eat in person again for sure

Review №14

2022-07-22 03:08:51

What a great place! Love the atmosphere and the service!Shout-out to the male cashier/server with the glasses. Hes so friendly, polite, and catered to our every need.We ordered the F6 Golden Soup Beef Noodles and the C3 Chinese Pork Pancake.The noodles had a very nice chew and soaked up the flavor from the soup. The beef was thin and very tender.The pancake tasted great as well. The outside was crispy but the pork was very tender and moist.Definitely will be coming back to try their other menu items!

Review №15

2023-12-01 02:19:36

I order from here about twice a month and lately it seems the quality has gone down hill. I normally order a couple chicken dishes and fried rice and dont really order the hot pot stuff to go.My last order the Kung pao chicken had a fishy shrimp after taste almost if had been in the same pan ias a shrimp dish and left a terrible after taste.I used to order the crispy chicken its delicious but I put it in the toasted once to heat it up and make it more crispy and literally about a quarter inch of grease drenched out from the fried chicken... is this what I have been eating?The beef sandwich things were completely off and we couldnt even finish one of the pieces.This place seemingly used to be much better than it is now.

Review №16

2022-10-31 19:44:11

Really great selection of noodle soups, hot pots, and plenty of other dishes. Even have my favorite sesame rice balls! Reminds me a little of our favorite noodle restaurant in Shanghai😀!

Review №17

2023-03-04 21:51:51

I’ve been here twice now and have enjoyed every dish I ordered. It will be my go to place for Chinese food for sure. Looking to try more items on the menu!

Review №18

2023-10-14 09:23:27

I got the tomato beef soup the noodles were so good and chewy I love it not too sour too

Review №19

2023-11-29 03:37:37

Taste is completely subjective and while the quality is high and the portions are large, I could barely eat any of the food because of how unappealing the taste was to me. If you go here, get something small or share a meal first before you dive in, cause you might not like it.

Review №20

2023-10-09 21:09:24

Food was incredible! The Dan dan noodles were delicious and our fried chicken was A+ perfectly cooked. It was a bit chaotic in there and the person at the front could have been a bit more helpful and clear but can’t beat good food.

Review №21

2021-12-23 07:38:33

Fantastic restaurant with traditional Chinese American dishes like Kung Pao chicken and fried rice.Although they have plenty of tables to sit down and eat at, you walk up, order and pay at the cashier. A few minutes later, an employee will walk over to your table with your food. They may not bring all the dishes out at once, but each is cooked to order.

Review №22

2022-06-02 03:14:08

This place is pretty good. The place is comfortable and it looks very clean. The service was good as well and the food as well. I took a hot pot soup and a chicken dish and they were both 4 stars or so. The place is always busy with UCI students which gives it a younger vibe.

Review №23

2022-04-25 23:22:40

Enjoyed my first time here. I enjoyed the warm atmosphere and clean setting of the restaurant. My mom and I ordered the mabo tofu, the shrimp wonton soup, and sesame balls. The latter dish was definitely the best part, and neither of us could find any fault in the meal. The tofu was good and the soup was light and delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed eating fresh and authentic Chinese food, which was refreshing from the typical Panda Express meal (which is delicious in itself, but I needed something different from it that more closely represented the countrys cuisine). I would like to come back here again and try their hot pot and custard buns!

Review №24

2023-08-15 02:31:18

Simple, fast, very authentic Northern Chinese food, according to my husband. 😁😋😁

Review №25

2023-08-05 19:51:34

Very nice place!Smiling staffGreat food and service.

Review №26

2021-09-16 02:11:33

We came to this restaurant by chance but it turned out to be great. We ordered dumplings, wonton in spicy sauce, dan dan noodles and a beef hot pot. All of them taste great and the price is not that expensive. The manager even came out to ask us about the experience. Good service and great food

Review №27

2021-09-30 03:02:19

If youre looking for quick Chinese food then youve hit the jackpot. I got the crispy chicken and egg rolls and they did not disappoint. Very tasty and very crunchy throughout. Wasnt a hug fan of the dipping sauce but thats just me. The white rice was also very good but I forgot to take a photo of it and by then I was too full to think straight. They do have some interesting hot plates that I want to try next time so will be back soon. I would recommend this place if youre in the area.. cheers

Review №28

2023-10-25 13:28:46

Best choice for authentic Chinese food in Orange! Service is much better than other restaurants in the UCI area. Has a good atmosphere.

Review №29

2022-09-30 20:40:57

I ordered the beef roll and my friend ordered the cold noodle. For some reason I have never had a beef roll where the beef inside was cold so that was a bit different for me. My friend said the noodles tasted a bit hard but was overall okay. Not sure if my cold beef was a mistake or intentional.

Review №30

2023-09-23 06:10:30

I still cant get over how good the students at UCI have it now!! The food at Northern Cafe is something I could literally only dream of when I was in school many lifetimes ago.You know its a good sign when a place is PACKED during lunch on a weekday! We started off strong with the cold cut appetizer of Spicy beef in chili oil.Gotta go with the classics like the Beef rolls and Zha jiang mian. These dry noodles were such a hit and they really nailed the sauce on this one.Portion sizes are an absolute blessing here, but if you dont feel like sharing, they also have individual hot pots! We went for the Golden soup beef pot which had a surprising but pleasant spicy kick to it.If youre an eggplant fan, youve gotta spring for their Stir-fried eggplant with garlic. But then if youre a fan of garlic but not veggies, go for the Garlic pork ribs.... got you fam :)Thanks for reading! ^-^

Review №31

2023-06-06 17:56:54

Thriving hustle and bustle spot in the UCI plaza that gets somewhat busy during dinner time but the food still gets out fairly quick.We are absolutely in love with the Golden Soup Beef Pot - the broth is very unique and tasty and is our go to whenever we visit. In fact, all the hot pot options are tasty and provide great value.The Spicy Pork Wontons, Hot and Sour Soup are also notably delicious. Weve had a poor experience with a Wonton Soup, where the dumpling barely had any actual filling in it. Overall, their dumplings are OK, but dont expect to be blown away.The restaurant requires you to come up and order, and then you can sit wherever you like. When youre done, they also have self-serve to-go containers out so that you can package up your own food and be on your way.Decor is dark brown wood - very food hall like, and there is unintrusive oriental music playing, but there are many patrons so thats what youll be hearing and seeing.

Review №32

2023-02-27 20:59:28

I ordered DanDan noodles but my order came out cold and noodles were not fully cooked. Dont waste your money here, I would never go back again. I would also tell all my friends to avoid this place.

Review №33

2023-05-29 02:35:39

This was my second time coming to this location and it was once again, a great experience. Every food item we got tasted great and the entire group was more than satisfied. Additionally, I would say that the prices are relatively fair for the amount of food they give. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for some great Chinese food.

Review №34

2023-08-26 00:39:29

Just went there for the first time today. The food was absolutely delicious, and everything else was excellent also. I highly recommend this place if you’re looking for something a bit different and very tasty!

Review №35

2022-06-05 22:48:44

Ordered fried rice and orange chicken. The rice was inedible. It was more onion than rice. And the orange chicken had an insane amount of garlic on it that thats all I could taste. Im really disappointed as Ive heard great things about this place.

Review №36

2023-10-19 20:26:22

The food is highly inconsistent. If you come here five times a year, you will walk out once feeling like you want to vomit the sewer sludge you just consumed. All of their stir/deep fried dishes have this issue. Sometimes not seasoned, sometimes too greasy, sometimes no sauce, sometimes too much sauce, sometimes stale meat. Avoid all of their fried dishes and stick to the hot pots and soup noodles, those are alright.

Review №37

2023-02-21 05:33:46

My family and friends celebrated my birthday at Northern Cafe last night. We selected it because of its proximity to Irvine Lanes. We had absolutely no clue how amazing the food is at this restaurant. We shared a lot of dishes, and all of them were stellar! My faves... the fatty beef and wontons in the spicy sauce. I cant wait til my next visit!!

Review №38

2023-07-22 03:52:42

Food and service are both excellent, we have many favorites here that keep us coming back.Today, Dennis provided our family with excellent service and made our visit very enjoyable.

Review №39

2022-07-28 03:11:45

Arguably one of the best Chinese restaurants in Orange county. They have my favorite dish of all time which is called noodles with sesame sauce. All the food is done very deliciously and looks freshly made. Theyre hot and sour soup is the best that I have had in a very very long time. The dumplings especially lamb dumplings are the best. You cannot miss the pot stickers also lamb dish. Also spicy chicken noodle is excellent. I recommend trying all the dishes and youll enjoy it

Review №40

2022-06-04 03:01:14

I have been to this restaurant a few times now and love the food here. I have ordered most of the hot pots and would say that they are overall all really good. My personal favorite one is the Sauerkraut Lamb Pot. I would also recommend getting the Chongqing Crispy Chicken as well as the Scallion pancakes. In addition to this I would also recommend getting the Sliced Beef in Chili Oil. For dessert all of the options are good but my favorite is the Sesame Balls. The inside looks nice and is really clean and the overall vibe is really casual, good for friends and families. You order at the front of the establishment and you can choose where you sit. The average cost per person is about $10-20 depending on order size.

Review №41

2022-03-20 02:50:29

Great spot to grab dinner. We got the house special beef noodles, the cold noodles and the sesame pancake.Noodles were nice and chewy, sauces/broth were both good- not too oily. Beef was a little chewy - not quite as fall apart as I expect w this dish.The menu has a great selection of fairly authentic Chinese entrees. Great for a weekday dinner.

Review №42

2022-01-23 06:53:37

Great place for Chinese food in Irvine! Great staff as well

Review №43

2023-07-20 04:10:05

Foods ok, but literally the worst Thai tea I’ve ever had in my life, they pulled it out of a fridge and it tasted like water

Review №44

2022-11-23 23:09:07

Beef roll is delicious. Recommend trying.

Review №45

2023-02-14 05:14:11

The food was great and the servers were really friendly

Review №46

2022-09-15 21:26:21

Pork xlb is good, highly recommended。However the price of some others are a little expensive according to their inexpensive material.

Review №47

2022-12-24 23:08:18

They overcharged me and gave me 3 noodles for a 2 person table. I ordered two noodles, without green onions, but they put in 3 noodles and one had green onions. It was my negligence since I didn’t check the receipt, so I just accepted the noodles. They put the third noodle in a to go box while I was still in the middle of my meal. By the time I got out the restaurant the noodles are already soaked.

Review №48

2022-02-28 05:59:55

Came to try this place since we saw some good reviews and the reviews are right, the food are pretty good for a newly open Chinese restaurant. Tried the non-spicy beef noodle soup, wonton in spicy sauce, pan fried shrimp, pork, egg and chive dumplings, seaweed salad and fried noodles with shrimpEverything is good except the fried noodles. Love the beef roll crispy outside and flavorful beef inside. Love the spicy sauce for the wonton. Ended up using the spicy sauce as the dipping sauce for the dumplings instead. Will definitely try again and must try if you are in the area

Review №49

2022-11-08 03:22:21

The food tasted very cheap and the chicken noodle soup made my girlfriend throw up because it tasted like a trash maruchan broth and the chicken was extremely fatty and tasted terrible. would never recommend going here. if i could give 0 stars i would

Review №50

2022-05-05 02:32:56

First time trying this place, not a bad experience but it’s a little too pricy for the quality of the food. Other than that, everything I ordered was good. The orange chicken was mid, the kung pao chicken was good. I also ordered a pork pancake, that was good. Overall the food had flavor and the takeout/customer service was good.

Review №51

2023-04-11 00:00:00

Great food and service! Highly recommend Cumin Lamb!

Review №52

2021-10-08 02:03:32

The most authentic Chinese restaurant with walking distance of UCI. The dishes are pretty good and affordable. I recommend their hotpots and big plate chicken. The wait time is a little bit long currently but this should be fine later as they are hiring more people.

Review №53

2023-08-06 05:48:42

The food was so bad and was not cooked all the way I am sorry to this place and the people did not look like they wanted to work there.

Review №54

2021-11-14 00:52:17

Food is tasty! Great quality! But customer service and serving method should get improved. If you order multiple foods, you would not receive all at the same time....their logic is some food takes longer to prepare! This can be manged easily.

Review №55

2022-03-14 08:55:53

The noodles are just regular noodles that you can buy from any Asian market. Not handmade noodles. Very disappointed with the quality! I had diarrhea when I went home… Btw the waitress ignored me twice after I said “thank you” multiple times. Won’t come back again.

Review №56

2022-10-22 02:35:27

Hot pot is always good!

Review №57

2022-02-17 21:24:49

If you like quick service and something with a bit of a kick for spice. Northern Cafe is pretty good for that. Its a nice place. Nothing fancy. Price is ok for the area, wished it was cheaper but what can you do.. haha. Its reasonable. You pay up front and its self-serve water.

Review №58

2022-10-16 03:28:26

$20 and you get a massive portion of an appetizer and a main dish. I highly recommend the chili beef slices.

Review №59

2023-04-10 05:35:38

The egg noodles were fantastic! I also really liked the garlic broccoli

Review №60

2023-08-26 18:23:17

The one in Cerritos has far better food

Review №61

2021-11-13 13:52:29

The spicy level is extremely hot. There should be different grades of spice on the menu. I could not taste the beef broth.

Review №62

2023-08-10 10:59:26

Better than traditional taste of Chinese dishes.

Review №63

2022-08-19 04:31:25

Fair price. Taste wasn’t bad.

Review №64

2023-07-31 22:23:34

The orange chicken and pork dumplings are soooo good

Review №65

2022-11-29 07:15:11

Do not miss out on this food and experience. Ive eaten all over the world and this place is magical. Yum.yum yummyyyy

Review №66

2021-12-14 19:11:24

Honestly pretty good. I wasnt sure about the authenticity of this by the way it was marketed but I was pleasantly surprised. You can eat full for a meal for 15-20. I got the hotpot and it was pretty delicious and filling.

Review №67

2022-08-25 15:05:59

The place is shady. Never gave me a receipt, then secretly charge more than what I should have paid. I think they add a tip on the check without my consent, I will never visit this place again.

Review №68

2021-11-16 02:43:54

Open atmosphere. Food comes fast! Cumin lamb and beef roll are completely cravable 😋 Cant wait to try more items!

Review №69

2021-11-01 02:53:39

The food was amazing, ordered the thai fusion hot pot and beef roll, both were amazing in flavor. Definitely the best spot in UTC

Review №70

2022-12-04 17:19:13

The food is good, but the menu never changes. The seatings are limited.

Review №71

2023-08-09 18:06:54

Love food excellent atencion 100% recomend

Review №72

2022-05-03 06:13:17

This place is bomb I drove about 25 mins to go here definitely worth it.Everything was fresh the beef patties 🔥🔥🔥and the Thai tea good

Review №73

2021-09-19 01:38:03

My wife’s dish wasn’t too spicy, but even one piece of the chicken made her stomach feel weird. Didn’t eat the rest.

Review №74

2022-04-29 00:37:40

The food is just okay but very expensive for what it is! Except for the hot pots theyre a good price

Review №75

2022-11-27 23:14:59

Authentic food, but would suggest not eating at in n out right before coming here.

Review №76

2021-10-04 02:54:33

The staff was nice and I actually really like their beef noodle soup.

Review №77

2023-01-26 05:36:43

Beef roll is very good and not expensive.

Review №78

2022-05-20 03:29:57

Great food, really enjoyed everything I’ve had so far

Review №79

2022-05-10 05:11:42

Food was VERY good! Staff is nice and willing to help with any questions

Review №80

2022-01-18 14:28:35

Food was quick, I order the Kung pao chicken and it was way too salty

Review №81

2022-04-24 01:33:42

Tasty menu, great customer service. Amazing portion sizes.

Review №82

2022-03-28 14:11:16

Decent place for Chinese food. Every thing is average.

Review №83

2023-04-01 18:14:50

Best authentic Chinese near UCI

Review №84

2021-09-25 02:41:34

40+ minute wait for mediocre food for 4 people :( Staff said they’re busy as an excuse for the long wait despite half-full restaurant.

Review №85

2022-03-26 04:52:29

Got their house beef noodle and it was good.

Review №86

2022-05-28 22:46:55

Dumplings and egg rolls were great!

Review №87

2021-11-09 21:07:38

Solid hot pot and noodles. Totally recommend

Review №88

2022-12-11 21:21:31

Every dish was delicious!

Review №89

2022-09-19 19:52:33

Taste good 👍

Review №90

2023-04-03 17:07:20

Love the beef roll

Review №91

2022-04-25 05:18:39

Delicious food, very organized.

Review №92

2023-07-06 02:23:16

Food just yum.

Review №93

2023-02-18 17:49:54

The quality degrades a lot

Review №94

2022-01-19 22:25:27

Very nice

Review №95

2023-12-12 18:27:37

Fast service and great food. Quality is very consistent. I highly recommend you try it out.

Review №96

2023-08-10 21:56:27

Yangzhou fried rice, the chicken inside is cut bigger than a spoon, the saliva chicken is hard and sticky, and the chicken is still full of ice balls that have not been defrosted. Is the chef in a hurry to get off work? If you don’t learn how to fool Lao Mei, is it so difficult for you to cook a good Chinese meal?

Review №97

2022-10-21 02:38:24

The fresh shrimps in red oil are not worth ordering. You can’t taste the shrimp flavor. 99% of them are vegetables and you only get a small piece of shrimp meat! The price is more expensive than other items!Beef patties and saliva chicken behave normally~Fried vegetables are delicious and sweet!

Review №98

2022-05-24 04:27:03

Really really horrible. I have never had a shrimp wonton with only 90% cucumber and 2-3 pieces of chopped shrimp inside.What the hell is this shrimp red oil dumpling? Each dumpling only has two or three small pieces of shrimp meat and 90% cucumber. When ordering, the clerk also said, do you mind if there is cucumber? I don’t mind having cucumbers on the side as a side dish, but of course I do mind that the fillings inside the noodles are filled with cucumbers. Isn’t it too misleading to call them shrimp and red oil noodles? ! In which country do the red oil dumplings use cucumbers as filling? Is it the red oil dumpling cucumber?

Review №99

2023-06-15 20:49:06

The taste is very good, the portion is large, the service is good, the price is affordable, and the nutrition is balanced

Review №100

2023-10-16 23:00:50

I would like to ask the boss if you have tried everything yourself. It is really delicious! To do good quality control, try it at least once a month!

Review №101

2022-09-17 04:08:56

Spicy Beef Hot PotIt’s hard to say whether it’s delicious or not.But you can eat Chinese food in UTCAlready very good

Review №102

2023-03-16 17:15:29

The taste is pretty good, mainly because it’s close to the school and it’s very convenient to eat.

Review №103

2022-04-26 05:56:54

The price/performance ratio is very high and the environment is also very good. You can eat alone or with a group of people.

Review №104

2023-01-11 21:39:56

Crispy salted chicken with diarrhea

Review №105

2023-02-26 20:11:56

Food is served too slowly