Q-cina Green Cafe

The last time I was here was a few months ago because this place is out of the way from where I live and work. You wouldn’t think this place existed because the neighborhood inconspicuous and suspicious.
I started that review in June 2011. Since then, I haven’t been because like I said it was far from where I live and work and now it’s no longer open. I’m a little disappointed. The food was so amazingly good and creative and fresh. I kept telling the people I brought there that I wish they would open one on the west side of the valley. I think they would be really successful if they opened one closer to civilization. Seriously… their food was some of the best I’ve ever had. Salmon club was my usual and it was just complete goodness. I’ve never had another one since anywhere else because it was so exclusive to Q-​Cina. The prices were incredibly reasonable for the quality of food they put out.
If the original owner (s) of Q-​Cina is reading this… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, I’m pleading on my knees, PLEASE open again, but this time somewhere in the west or mid valley (ahem… like Tarzana… ahem, by the Whole Foods Market on Ventura Blvd… ahem). You would make such a killing.
I love you Q-​Cina, in all your former glory… *pours out a ¹⁄₅ of beer in reverence*
Btw, I’m giving it 4 stars for how I once knew it, not what it is now.

Q-​cina used to be one of my favorite little restaurants in the San Fernando Valley. My friend Mike introduced it to me as «the only place I’m willing to walk to for food.»
The menu used to be amazing yet practical, less than expensive and just flourishing with personality. Well, that’s not Q-​cina anymore.
Q-​cina is now owned by someone who obviously didn’t care to keep the business they used to get. They changed almost the entire menu, got rid of all the original workers and completely threw away all of the quality ingredients they used to use.
The last time I went here was to see how different it was now that it was under new management. I walked in with my girlfriend who also used to be a huge fan of the original and we were both immediately disappointed. The place was empty, lights slightly dimmed and we had to wait about 5 minutes to get seated by the cook. The cook brought us menus and asked what we wanted to get. We ordered something we had both previously enjoyed which were the burgers, but unfortunately these were nothing like they used to be. The fact they took about 25 minutes to come out wasn’t even the biggest deal — they were barely able to be considered warm. The ingredients obviously weren’t the same, the prices were slightly higher and the original atmosphere and charisma of Q-​cina was obviously gone.
I hope the original owners of Q-​cina would open another restaurant and give us something to enjoy again because their food was great and their passion for it was even greater.

This is … interesting.
I would think it was a front for drug sales, except with a dispensary and a smoke shop in the same strip mall, and another dispensary across the street, the competition would be fierce. (Note: This is satire, and no implication of actual illegal activities on anyone’s part should be implied.)
I wandered into the place, empty at 1pm on a Saturday. Two gentleman watching TV got up and looked at me. I looked at them. We looked at the TV, then back at each other. Eventually, I blinked first, and said, «Just one.» They looked at me, then back at the TV.
Then the waiter came out. Were the other two the owners? Customers? Impossible to say.
The menu is kind of standard kabob + «Mediterranean» + borscht. It describes itself as «Armenian,» but I would not know Armenian food if it put *me* on the menu, so I cannot speak to that. The food, however, was delicious and the pricing reasonable.
Just understand that there may be an awkward moment getting seated.

So, more than a few people have mentioned that Q-​Cina has new ownership now. I was one of the regulars, and felt Abby and Anthony were a sweet couple working so hard to make a go of it. I had three or four meals a week there, and really enjoy the inventive food. The picture that’s attached to my review is from my first visit — the really great salmon that I used to love.
I can’t tell if it’s open or not anymore. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. I do feel like the current owners benefit off the good reviews that Q-​cina used to get.

So i was aware of the previous owner/​chef moving but because of Bill H.‘s recent review i thought maybe these new guys picked up where the last owner left off. Sadly this wasnt the case and i lost 12 bucks and ended up with a twisting stomach.
i was the only one in the place but because of the TV and some buzzing fridge i could barley hear the unconfident waitress
i order a 9 dollar kobe burger (kobe my butt) +bacon and an ice tea which arrived with dusty debris so i only drank the bottom half (yuck)
and when the food arrived i could not believe this chef would be lazy enough with NO other orders to work on TO FRY MY BACON!
the poor waitress noticed i had taken the bacon out and comped me for it
the meat was terrible, i left a third of it. (its no longer the same burger in the primary photo)
i wouldnt be suprised to see this place on ramsays kitchen nightmares
thanks bill H. ill remember your name in case i stumble upon another 1 of your reviews

I came in late with my daughter and they didn’t hassle or rush us at all. The place is not much for ambiance, but the staff is pleasant. Sweet potato fries and kobe burger rock, not all-​star in my opinion, but it was really good.
Ownership has changed and there was a lot on the menu that is no longer available. I got the feeling that the new owner was trending away from the originals hallmark of organic and fresh, which is a shame.
Overall, good food and priced very well for what you get.

I love having the fresh coconuts as a drink option but we got charged $ 3 each when the menu said $ 2.50, which isn’t bad still but they should have told us. The food was ok (I had the chicken pesto sandwich), fresh and all but it always bugs me when «garlic fries» don’t have actually fresh garlic on them, what’s that all about? Oh and I thought from looking at the menu that my sandwich would be on chibatta bread and instead it came out on some kind of sliced wheat toast, kinda sad about that.
It was slow when we came in and they only had one cook but it took almost 20 minutes to get us our food which was a bit long for my taste especially at some small café without much ambiance.

So this place is conveniently located next to my X in laws Bakery Bakery. After reading veryyy mixed reviews about this place & having to see ownerships continuously changing I thought I’d give it a shot.
A cafeteria/​eclectic vibe & ambience to it.
My server was supperr nice a cute mejicano
After debating what to order i ordered, the Wild caught scallops. It came with sautéed spinach, mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, & a lime curry beurre blanc sauce.
My scallops were a tad over done but still tasty & edible.
the mashed potatoes tasted dry yet soggy I don’t know how to explain it. The spinach was cooked perfectly.
The sauce was not a beurre blanc sauce was more of a liquid-​y lime sauce with drops of yellow from the curry in it.
Salty in some areas of my dish they need to lay low on the salt.
All in the all it was tasty yes. for an establishment like this its do-​able. I mean c’mon this isn’t a chain restaurant or Spago here. Everyone seems to get the burger here. I must try that next time. $ 12.50 for my plate and parking in the little shopping center it is located in.

Kobe Burger w/​Garlic Fries.
I think most people here are giving it a high star rating to support small businesses. It’s a great place to eat here, definitely would eat here if I were in town.
Kobe Burger was good, the medium rare was a little too rare for me. Strings of raw meat were hanging off of a bite I took and I’m not sure if it was clean enough to be that. well, uncooked. The burger itself was a bit saltier than others I’ve had, making me feel that maybe that’s been done to over enhance the flavor. Otherwise all the other parts were pretty standard. This would be possible list material, but I’d place this towards the middle or bottom of my tops list. Price for taste/​portion was fair.
Hope to try more items on their menu. They all looked pretty good.
Service was great and it’s next to the coffee shop which is quite good!

This place has fallen in disarray since it was abandoned by the old owners. I guess they took Unilocal with them, because it feels like this restaurant has long since been forgotten.
I should have went sooner when my Unilocal Crush Allen C reviewed it a long time ago before they changed. Well I never went when the old chef was there so I guess I missed out, but what was left behind is still some pretty tasty food. The only problem is the strange and awkward atmosphere and weird service.
The guy that was our server, went outside to take a phone call. So the «chef» came out and was our server. It was really weird… He cooked our food, brought us napkins, and refilled my drink. Then he disappeared… then the other server came back. It was all quite strange.
Aside from the strange atmosphere and service, and the spotty rundown neighborhood, there lies one of the best tasting burgers I’ve had in a long time.
Kobe burger– Feta cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, herb aioli, with a side of garlic fries. LAWD! Have mercy! I wasn’t expecting such a tasty burger, it kinda caught me off guard. I asked for it medium and it came out perfectly pink and juicy in the center. If I was gonna knit pick I’d say that they should ditch the bun and get some better bread, but other than that the burger was perfection.
Skip the sweet potato fries because they aren’t very good here. Get the Garlic fries though because they are delicious.
The Curry chicken wrap is pretty good too. But seriously all you need to order is this!
You can buy me an Old Fashion with a twist and thank me later :)

I’m sorry but this place once served up good food.
I went about 3 times in the past few months. This past Sunday being the last. Both my boyfriend & I ordered a medium well kobe burger w/​garlic fries. The fries are no longer those crispy shoe string fries with yummy garlic flavor. The burger had mayo spread overload but what was worst was when I tried to cut my burger in half, blood completely filled my entire plate. I doubt when you order a burger medium well, should it look like a crime scene. My boyfriends burger looked worst. It wasn’t even a little pink in the middle, all you saw was bright red under cooked meat almost through out the whole patty. I could not take another bite nor could he. I couldn’t even just eat my fries. What fries I ask!?! These oil filled sponges with snowballs of garlic powder?
We asked for the check, paid & left. With no intention of ever returning.
Your Homegirl,
Violy
P.S.
**When I wrote my 1^st review for this place, the food was delicious infused with so much flavor, beautiful presentation. I was excited because I could see the potential this place had… and in my neighborhood none the less.
BUMMER

I could kick myself for not trying this restaurant when Chef Anthony Velarde and wife were the heart and soul of this restaurant. But i wont. Seriously, I wanted to chill with a fellow Filipino and his wife. «Pare, mabuti ano?» and congratulate him for having one of the highest rated restaurants in No Ho and beyond. Since it opened March 2009, it garnered many 5 star reviews for the quality, presentation, creativity, and price. (Check out everyone’s pictures including mine)
Sadly, it’s under new ownership and I read that it’s just a shell of its former self. Just like when Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movie bemoaned that his son wasn’t Evil enough. He called the Seth Green character, «The Diet Coke of Evil» Was this the Diet Coke of quality? Checking out the menu on the website, they took out some items I really wanted to try, like the crab cake and the Cornish game hen. Worse, there was no more Velarde family. And the restaurant is now owned by the Pet Store owner, too? Can that be good?
At 1:00 PM on a Thursday afternoon, there was only one other diner here having a luscious looking Kobe burger and sweet potato fries. After getting my drink (Diet Coke he he) I asked how long a few dishes took to prepare. He said 20 minutes for most of them. I finally decided on the pan seared scallops. It was a beautiful dish ($ 13). Five small to medium sized pieces of scallops were pan seared in butter and wine placed in a smile semi circle. In lieu of mashed potatoes, I had the butter curry rice, very yummy topped with a slightly sweet and tangy sauteed spinach and onion, dotted with grape tomatoes. There was some hot sauce on it, and kicked it up a notch like Emeril says.
I ate it all, and the flavor was outstanding. The temperature of the scallops however were cool on the inside. I don’t like overcooked scallops, but I prefer it warm. The waiter, though quite friendly, never came back to check on my meal until I was nearly done because he was preparing food for the new customers that just came in. So, I would rate the food 4 stars, and the service 3 stars. However, when I walked out after paying, I left my binder inside. The waiter comes running out with my binder, and that was cool. I may come back, but only if in this area. Turns out Chef Velarde and wife started a similar place in Glendale but closed down recently Overall it was a good day but I wonder what I missed.

Oh, Q-​Cina, you let me down, Julie Brown. Our second date was sadly disappointing. I think I’m over you.
I placed a delivery order. The girl who took the order was pleasant like before. I ordered a Waldorf salad & added grilled salmon. She informed me that I had an old menu, and she had to find out if they would be able to make that salad for me, since it wasn’t on the new menu. Turned out they could, but they couldn’t do the surf & turf plate my friend wanted, so he ordered the pan seared salmon dinner plate instead. The girl suggested a few appetizers, of which we chose the crab cakes based on the yummy description she so eloquently articulated, and finally, we got 2 of the specialty choco-​pistacio desserts.
Well, the food gets delivered within a reasonable time frame. But when we opened the bag, that’s when I lost my food erection. Okay, that sounded wrong in so many ways, but I needed to drive the point home.
Waldorf Salad: What happened to the beautiful fresh presentation? The greens were a bit wilted, toppings sparse. The grilled salmon was nicely sized and pretty good.
Pan Seared Salmon Plate: OH-​EM-​GEE. What should have been a dinner sized portion of fish was in actuality an overcooked ¹⁄₃^rd of a filet. Like a sliver. HELLO! This is supposed to be a «pan seared SALMON plate!» As in the salmon is the main. There was a decent bed of rice and veggies, but not enough fish. I kid you not, my add-​on salmon for my salad was 3X the size of my friends main entrée. You have GOT to be kidding me.
Crab Cakes: Okay, here we go with the ridiculous portion sizes again. We ordered crab «cakes». CAKES, as in more than one. So, why, oh why, did we only get ONE sad little crab patty on a few pieces of salad alongside a smattering of broken «last bits in the bag» flour chip thingies? Uh. I think this appetizer is more appropriately named «crap CAKE».
Dessert: It would have been cute if they packed them in the appropriately sized container. Instead, they were toppled upside-​down, ruining the chance for an eye-​pleasing presentation.
Is this how you treat people who love (d) you?
Listen up Q-​Cina!
Sure, you impressed me once but that doesn’t mean you can stop trying. Your food tastes great and I want to support local, but you need to get your shit together, especially when I just dropped over $ 40 on an unsatisfactory experience. It’s not just about tantalizing my taste buds. Just because I’m ordering delivery does not mean I am okay with my food arriving as though your delivery driver shook ‘em up like dice at the crap tables, threw them in the backseat, and drove at warp speed to my door. Lastly, if you ran out of ingredients necessary to prepare my meals, do not think it’s appropriate to ration out your scraps and have the audacity to think you’re fooling anyone with a pair of eyes. If you don’t have what I want, just say so! And if everything I want isn’t part of your new minimalist menu, then PLEASE baby please. tell me what the hell IS available, damn it!
I thought we had a good thing going, but I am on to the next…
Peace out,
Joy B.

They took all the great dishes I loved off their menu. The new menu is TINY! All thats really left are the burgers, salads, and a few other things
. No game hen, no lobster tail, or filet of beef with shrimp. :(Not to mention that they destroyed the pizza list which has gone from gourmet ~~~~~ to make your own… I’ll check their web page in a few months to see if they get things rolling again, but for now i’m avoiding Q-​Cina.
The chef is working on a new spot in glendale which I haven’t checked out.

Aww, just confirmed today for lunch that with their new spring menu (see my photo of the menu), they have gotten rid of all their delicious wraps, except maybe 1 or 2 sandwiches which you can get as a wrap.: (
I did enjoy the Chicken Curry Pita Pocket which seems to be as close to a wrap as I could get.
There also seems to be nothing made with my favorite ahi tuna anymore. Double: (
Oh and no more tazo iced tea, but they still have their coconuts and they now brew their own passion fruit iced tea.: (, but also :) and: /​
But, what has made it through the menu change is still exceptionally delicious, so they still deserve 5 stars. They’re still my lunch favorite. They’re still my lunch f*** buddy.
SUB-​UPDATE 2÷18÷10 (not worth a real update): FOR THE LOVE OF GOD/​ALLAH/​BUDDAH/​THAT OTHER HINDI GOD, you have to try the Rosemary Chicken Marsala entrée. It’s $ 14 but well worth it. I practically grew up on chicken marsala and have a discriminating palette for it. This is a reinvention of the dish and it’s absolutely AMAZING from the top of the highest sprout to the deepest part of the wine sauce. Simply muah!

This is Los Angeles. Which means that although not all of us are plastic enhanced, overly-​orange-​tanned, or multi-millionaires…we still like healthy, fresh, and delicious food. Basically, I think we are all a little stuck up with what goes in our bodies because of the over-​staturation of choices.
Q-​cina fits the model of each and every LA resident. unless you are too much of a snob to eat at a restaurant located within a plaza and slightly un-​becoming from the exterior. However, once inside, you are welcomed by an up-​beat staff, fresh garden colors, and a vibrant environment. Never judge a book by it’s cover. Or a restaurant by it’s location, in this case.
Q-cina’s food speaks volumes. Diverse offerings using fresh ingredients such as pizza, wraps, elegant entrees like Rosemary Chicken Marsala and Lemongrass Scented Pork Chops, and of course: salads. We ordered the Mongolian Flank Steak Lavash Wrap w/​garlic fries and the Fresh-​seared Salmon salad. The garlic fries were absolutely delicious! Not too greasy or dry, but perfect with a hint of garlic. The salad was fresh and tasty with large spinach leaves, grape tomatoes, thick balsamic dressing and feta cheese. The seared salmon with the dish was perfectly seasoned and lightly seared to create a crisp, crunchy top but with a tender, flaky, buttery, center. Bottom line? The food is terrific! And VERY responsibly priced. Our 2 plates, and 2 drinks came to $ 22.
Service is a little pushy and the seating area is a little drafty and stiff, but other than that, Q-​cina is a winner. I mean come on, we all love healthy but filling food, right?!

Oh how far the mighty have fallen!
I really loved Q-​cina. I loved the Salmon which I ordered and had delivered, and the salads.
And then I went today with my dad and my brother, both of whom are notoriously hard to please patrons, thinking that they’d love the inexpensive, high-​quality menu items I’d enjoyed so much in the past.
We arrived at 1:52 PM. I know this, because I was texting someone at the time and making plans to go see a movie. We were seated, and I noticed immediately that the small dining room, though only half-​full, was really noisy. I’m guessing this is because the kitchen is directly behind the wall I sat in front of, and because that wall does not completely separate kitchen from dining room.
So the waitress comes by, and through the clang and clash and clatter of sheet pans and pots in the kitchen I ask for an iced tea. She says something I can barely make out, to the effect of «we have some kind of weird iced green tea» to which I ask «is it sweetened?» knowing that I’ll feel like throwing up if i drink sugar water on an empty stomach. She says yes, it’s a little sweet, and I say OK, Fine, I’ll try it if it’s all you’ve got.
Five minutes later, she comes back with a bottled iced tea. It has 40 grams of sugar in it. Luckily, she also brings a glass with ice.
Another waitress comes and takes our order. I got the Pan-​Seared Salmon because it was good before, my bro orders a New York Strip and my dad gets a burger, modified to such an extent that it no longer resembles whatever creative slant the executive chef had intended.
At around 2:25, the waitress brings my brother’s steak. Not only does it look horrible– no thicker than an ¹⁄₈ of an inch, a light brown with no decernable grill marks, flopped onto mashed potatoes the consistency of hummus– but she fails to bring ANY of the other plates with her.
She says something like «Sorry we didn’t bring your salad yet, we ran out of something that was in it.»
No, «your food will be right up.»
She walks away.
A FULL five minutes later, the Iced Tea waitress comes back with NOTHING BUT THE SALAD.
Are you daft?
A FULL five minutes after that, they served my dad and I.
I have to say, I really liked Q-​cina before today. I really like the concept of a healthy, creative dining option in my area that delivers and has a small dining room. I like small business. I want this place to succeed.
But not only was the service poor, the communication OFFENSIVELY bad, but the food quality overall has decreased. I won’t be back for another dining room attempt, personally.

Great place to eat. The food is delicious!!! I’m glad I went with a group of people. so that I was able to try some of everything.
Order of Yummy-​ness for ME was:
Sausage Pizza — (It was delicious. I expected it to taste like regular pizza. but it was new and different. And I liked the sauce. I think it’s supposed to come with chicken, but we substituted it with sausage instead.)
Shrimp and Garlic Scampi Ravioli (I ate it all. Including the garlic bread it came in. It was so good, I used my bread to soak up the sauce and eat that too. :) There was a little to much noodle though.)
Spicy Lamb & Roasted sweet peppers and feta cheese pizza — (Someone ordered it Spicy! It usually doesn’t come like that! The spicyness was good. It actually wasn’t that spicy at all and it gave it some kick! After I got home. I started thinking about what had happened to the last three slices of pizza that was left?)
Cornish Hen — (I had a small piece. actually a 1-​inch chunk of chicken with some rice. Not sure what it was. but I think it could be too much of the rosemary? And the chicken was just a little bit dry to me… but it could be because I was just eating a saucy shrimp dish)
5 — stars for presentation.

In three words: CHEAP, GOOD, FRESH.
In more words:
It was Sunday night and we were in the midst of yet another SFV summer heat wave. The culmination of these factors didn’t really entice me to fire up the oven or stove and cook something for dinner. So I decided to go out and grab a casual dinner with a date. Stuck in my usual rut, i didn’t really feel like eating at the usual spots that come to mind as I went down the list of restaurants that I frequent. So thanks to Unilocal,I discovered this establishment that pleasantly surprised me with the great value and fresh quality. Mind you, this little restaurant is hidden deep into No Ho and located in a strip mall where all the cars in the lot seemed to be patronizing this restaurant, so it appears that word of mouth and returning clientele have caught on to making this hidden gem a soon to be popular spot.
So onto out meal. I started with an arugula roasted beet salad which was delicious and refreshing and really hit the spot on a hot summer evening. For the main entrée I ordered the ginger-​glazed pork chop on a bed of mushroom risotto and my date had the fillet Mignon with prawns on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes. Both dishes were excellent. Neither meats were over cooked and the sides of veggies were very fresh, and presentation/​plating of the dishes were very colorful and appealing to the eye.
I had to take away a star for one minor issue with my water glass. I’m only mentioning for the sake of mentioning, but I’m sure they have a industrial dishwasher in the kitchen and occasionally a glass or two gets by with some remnants of lipstick or food particles that remain still caked onto the dish or in this case my glass. I just notified the waitress and she gladly brought me a new glass and everything was kosher. I will return, because there are several other items on the menu that caught my eye that I’d like to try. I’ll update my review as soon as i get to try those other entrees.

just had me the KOBE BURGER! — 5 STARS
As Mike P said: «when I touch it juices start squirting out at me!»
and he is correct! the burger is JUCY!!! The burger was a tiny bit on the salty side but who cares. I will FOR SURE order this again… indeed!