Chinese Noodle Café

We came for a late lunch and the place had only 2 other diners there. Once seated, I mentioned to the waitress that we had a Groupon. She told us that we had to order at least $ 26 to use our $ 20 Groupon — no where on the Groupon does it stipulate that. Anyway, we went ahead and ordered: cold noodles, General Tso’s tofu, broccoli beef. The food was just okay, nothing special at all. We won’t be back, I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone either.

I don’t care for hot and sour soup. Its not my thing but when it was offered free of charge I accepted. I have to admit, the flavors in that soup were down right amazing. I ate far more of it than I would have ever expected despite it having several ingredients I normally avoid.
The general chicken was well prepared and the crispy breading on the chicken was some of the best I’ve had. It all melted in your mouth.
Service was good.
But on this cold winter lunch hour the restaurant was pretty cool inside I struggled to stay warm while wearing a sweater. Also the dishes are fairly expensive for what they are.
I would like to see a lunch combo special.

Food was good, though my husband said some of his chicken was only luke warm. Service however was awful. We arrived at the scheduled opening time of 3:30, but the doors were locked and the inside was dark. We thought maybe they were just in back and hadn’t opened the doors yet as it was just time to open so we called. No answer. Went back to the car to try and figure out where to go instead. After deciding on a place, 15 minutes later, the doors opened so we went inside because we had a Groupon. Server was rude. Food was not ready and we were told it would be another 40 minutes for steamed rice as they hadn’t put it in yet. Hello, you were suposed to be open 20 minutes ago.
We placed our order and mentioned the Groupon and she said she had to check something first… ok. Server comes back to the table and says that we have to spend more money in order to use our $ 20, even though our bill is over $ 20. When I asked about this she said it’s because the owner won’t let them take Groupons unless the bill is at least $ 27. Are you kidding me? There is no stipulation of any kind on the deal. Anyway, we ordered Crab Rangoon even though we had already asked for this instead of the eggrolls that come with the dish. First, let me say that the Crab Rangoon here are amazing, so there is that. But then when we finally get our food… we both have eggrolls. Me: Um, we asked for Crab Rangoon. Server: I can get you Crab Rangoon, but that will be an extra $ 1 (or $ 2, can’t remember at this point). Seriously, I have never been to a Chinese restaurant that charged me extra for Crab Rangoon? Never mind I will just eat my eggroll (which was good, but that is not my point). My husband however does not like eggrolls and says so. Now I will give her one nod, as she did bring him crab rangoon a few minutes later and said she would do it this time. My final complaint is that when I went to give her my card to pay our $ 8 bill she asked me for cash. I said I only had a card and she gave me the look of death. Like how dare I not have cash. I understand that some businesses do not want to run a credit card for smaller amounts, but again, this was not mentioned at any point in time, nor is it posted on the door/​menu/​Groupon. While the food was good, we likely will not return due to location and the bad experience.

I used Groupon here, but she don’t well about coupon. I wasted my money here! Don’t go here with Groupon coupon. You should be order than you thought. :(
Also, don’t eat beef noodles.

So you either like this place or you hate it. I have a love/​hate relationship and mixed reviews. And usually — you hate it because it’s super busy/​they are rude/​pushy with ordering more food and there is literally only 1 – 2 people doing the take out, hosting, and service. The service is better than Wong’s, but that depends on Peggy’s mood. She can either be super nice (especially if you know some Mandarin and Not Cantonese — for me I’m out of luck) or you are just a regular.
So this is a little hyped, but this is the best place to get some amazing hot n sour sweet with no MSG! The hot n sour is more on the sour side than sweet, but it is great and the soup portion is large (not spicy). The other noodle soups (shredded chick or seafood) are also wonderful, especially if you are sick. This is NOT PHO people, but very simple home-​cooked Chinese chicken broth and noodles. This is very light if you are sick.
The other thing is — there is a Chinese Menu and the all you other People menu. The Chinese Menu is solid comfort food for me (as a Chinese-​American that is super picky about this kind of stuff). It is pricier than going to Olive (Olive is literally the street full of Asian hood and Asian goodies, restaurants, grocery stores, but it’s not big enough to be called a Chinatown or maybe the city ordinance hasn’t declared it such).
Chinese Menu:
1) $$$ ($ 17 for like Ma Po Tofu, Spring Rolls, and Rice — wth, but it is good– not amazing but solid)
2) Crispy Sesame Beef
3) And this is the deal for vegetarians, you do not have options of the All you Other People Menu. You must ask for the Chinese Menu (I think it’s usually translated too). You can get like a hunan tofu with black mushrooms/​veggies or tofu skins, etc. It’s just so much more flavorful than that general gao’s tofu.
All you Other People Menu:
1) Yes– the damn crab ragoons are good. I mean you don’t need to cry about it and it’s pretty on par with getting them at the United Provision.
2) I have had the General Gao’s Chicken. It’s good, but nothing to go crazy for.
So if you can get Peggy to like you, come here. There is usually a groupon or coupon somewhere for this place. Watch out — Peggy doesn’t like you using groupons. I would show her it after you get you bill. You can park across the street next to the Pagent, or take the Metrolink to the Delmar loop. This is also a small place, so I don’t recommend rolling deep with 10 people here. It’s like 4 person tables max. — except in the spring/​summer it’s really nice to sit outside and you can bring the gang.

Miss Peggy is the best host for any place in St. Louis. I love going in because it feels like I am going in and seeing family. That is how she treats us. The food is delicious. You will not find better hot and sour soup anywhere. If you love hot and sour soup you have to come here for it you will thank me. We have never ordered anything bad here. We tried the steamed pot sticker tonight and they were great. This is the best place for Chinese in the city. They are also very baby friendly. Thank you for the amazing experience always.

Awful service! When we arrived the hostess was dealing with a take out custpmer, she never acknowledged us. I sat down grabbed some menus & then she took a phone call. I told her I wanted crab Rangoon while I looked at the menu, she still didn’t acknowledge me! So. I left!

Like many other Chinese restaurants in St Louis, meatless dishes still feel like an afterthought here.
They mention «catering to vegetarians». Though I truly appreciate the sentiment, over-​fried general tso’s tofu isn’t going to cut it. Where dishes with meat have intriguing descriptions of their spices and sauces, that is not true of the meatless. When confronted with super tough, syrupy tofu (while knowing the variety of flavors and vegetables that they could employ instead of and alongside this dish), I am disappointed.
I’d ask CNC to consider more variety? Perhaps favorites like: tofu and preserved mustard greens, scallion pancake, mapo tofu with imitation meat… C’mon, China invented seitan (mian jin) ! Show us what you can do, Chinese Noodle Café!

Came in here with a friend after seeing some good reviews about it. Very disappointed. We ordered crab rangoons to split and those were great. Everything else was very bland and poorly cooked. I got an order of noodles with shrimp. The serving size was pretty large, but the shrimp was terrible– way overcooked and tasted slightly off. The broth the noodles were served with was practically flavorless. Basically hot water with a bit of salt. My friend had the chicken and noodles; she said it was equally bad. Chicken was super tough and flavorless.
Service was pretty quick, but not very friendly.
Maybe we visited on an off day? I don’t know, but the food we got was not worth the rave reviews we read online.

A lot of my friends hyped this place up and reading some of the reviews definitely had me on the edge of my seat coming here. Unfortunately, the food was just not any better or special than the normal hole in the wall Chinese food. I do have to admit, the Hot and Sour soup was delicious. However, the prices of this place is also higher than the average Chinese place.
I would definitely come back just to get some soup or grab it to go, but the food definitely was not anything special

Pros: Best Chinese food I’ve found in STL; Awesome hostess/​owner; Best interior for a Chinese food place I’ve found in STL; Reasonable prices; close to metro link parking so parking is a breeze despite being in the Loop.
Cons: Bad bathroom; interior could be better despite being relatively better than other Chinese food restaurants around.

I’ve been trying to find a decent Chinese food place by my house for a while now. This place is not it. I thought by the reviews that it may be decent but I was highly disappointed. I will say that the crab rangoons were good but that’s it. Got general tsao’s chicken and fried rice. Neither of them were good :(

Tried to use PAID value on an expired groupon after class last Friday. Was rudely greeted and told I could not use it. I literally highlighted in pink neon on printed voucher and showed on my iPhone app how it had not been confirmed redeemed to prove that the PAID value is always good. Then the woman told me I’d have to order at least $ 25 worth of food which was not even part of the original PROMO groupon, Refused service to me with $ 6 paid value. This was my first time here; will never try this place again. They didn’t even try to help.

Vegetarians, beware! Highly underwhelming.
Based on the reviews, I assumed this would be a Midwest Mecca of tofu and other divine delights. Upon checking this place out, I was deeply disappointed.
I asked if the hot and sour soup was vegetarian, since the menu says it has «no meat.» The woman stood there as if she was ashamed to answer. There was an awkward silence. I then asked if there was any chicken broth in it and then she hesitated to say there probably was. Verdict: The regularly raved soup is NOT vegetarian.
Okay, so I couldn’t have the soup. What about the meal? Well, the also supposedly superb General Tso’s Tofu was boringly bland. There was barely any sauce on the tofu and none on the broccoli. The tofu itself was tough to chew and due to a lack of sauce, was severely lacking flavor. Not worth $ 10.
Due to a poor meal and a peculiar answer (or initial lack thereof) on the soup being vegetarian or not, I would not recommend coming here.
P. S. If you’re wondering, the fortune cookie had egg in it. Too bad, vegans!

Food is decent, but over priced. Don’t believe the menu prices as each item costed at least a dollar more than the menu price and the menu that came with the delivery had the same incorrect prices. It also took at least 10 minutes to place the order on the phone. Not because of other customers, but because the woman on the phone had to ask questions about each word I spoke.

Unilocal didn’t disappoint, this little place was cute and quiet. The food here was good (not 5-​stars, blow you away amazing, but definitely good), and the service was prompt and friendly.
Went off of other reviews and ordered both the crab rangoon and the hot and sour soup to start. Both were very good, especially the crab rangoon which was served with a blend of sweet and sour (the good dark yellow kind) and a very horseradish heavy Chinese mustard. It was a great blend, and paired with the crisp crab rangoon perfectly. They were also not overly sweet, which is a common problem.
The hot and sour soup was great, a little different from most places. It was chock full of the usual veggies and tofu, though theirs is served without the typical pork in it. The menu said «no meat» which may or may not mean vegetarian, the soup did lack the typical meaty flavor that backs a good batch. It still had plenty of rich flavor though, and I didn’t miss the pork at all. Best of all it had the thickness of a good Hot & Sour, which is the quality I look for the most. New to me, they topped it with fresh chopped cilantro. I might start borrowing this trick at home, as the cilantro added a great freshness to the soup that paired perfectly with the pungency of it.
For our main meals I ordered the Hot Braised Chicken and the lady ordered Fried Rice, which she’d been craving. My dish was better than normal cheap take-​out, and about what I expected. Everything was cooked well, not too hot or lacking seasoning. The lady enjoyed the fried rice, but it was definitely not the dark St. Louis fried rice with that slight «wok hay» we were hoping for, and which we can’t get at home. I would say compared to normal it was a bit soft, as if maybe they’d used fresh, still-​hot rice. Not bad, but I’d look for greatness in other dishes.
All in all, I would return if I were nearby, but I wouldn’t go across town for it. Lovely neighborhood stop though, and worth a shot!

We were visiting from Chicago, the land of all foods that are great… so my standards are justifiably high.
I generally do not eat Chinese food, and I especially do not eat the soups.
Wow! We stopped in after the fireworks and what a HAPPY ENDING to the holiday festivities.
They made the egg drop soup fresh. Absolutely fantastic!
Then they gave us their hot and sour soup… IT WAS BETTER!
I haven’t had sesame chicken in almost 20 years.
It was fresh and a definite crowd pleaser.
I wish I could find Chinese like this at home!

Hands down the best Chinese in STL. I came here the first time today for lunch. Peggy greeted my friend and I warmly and was so welcoming. We got take-​out, and were a bit delayed due to construction. Peggy was really appreciative that we fought off the delay and even gave us free fried rice!
Now to the food. Amazing! Very very fresh and it isn’t covered up with tons of sauce like most Chinese restaurants. Instead, it’s the perfect amount that compliments the vegetables and meat. We got the beef & broccoli and the seafood delight. Yum yum yum. Oh, and you must order the crab rangoons. The seafood delight had cucumbers and cherry tomatoes along with traditional vegetables used in Chinese food. I couldn’t believe that it was all so fresh.
I’m very very impressed and can’t wait to go back again! Thanks Peggy!

My absolute favorite place to get Chinese takeout in st.louis.
The hot and sour soup is so good I could eat it every day and never get tired of it, it’s absolute heaven in a bowl.
Peggy (the owner) is always such a gracious hostess, so stop in and enjoy!

Great place. For someone whose mom is Chinese and impossible to please, mom was pleased. Lo mein was good as was the shredded chicken noodle soup

This was by far the best experience I’ve had at a Chinese restaurant. The owner (Peggy I believe) is one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. She had vegetarian options for us and our meals were way beyond what we had expected. We are only here for 4 days, but are coming back at least 1 more time.
Our Airbnb host recommended this place.