Cafe Evergreen offers an authentic Cantonese dining experience in a clean, spacious, and thoughtfully decorated setting on the Upper East Side. It's known for its made-to-order dim sum, ensuring each dish is fresh and hot. The atmosphere is bright, open, and welcoming, making it suitable for both family gatherings and relaxed dinners. It appears to be a neighborhood favorite, with owners warmly greeting many customers by name.
Customer perception is generally positive, with many praising the authentic Cantonese flavors, fresh ingredients, and well-executed dishes like har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, and Peking duck. The clean and comfortable ambiance is frequently highlighted. Service is often described as friendly, with one staff member, Sam, specifically mentioned for excellent service. However, some negative experiences include inconsistent service, long waits during busy periods (like Christmas Day), and occasional issues with food quality such as greasy appetizers or finding a hair in a dish. There were also concerns about food potentially being reheated for large groups.
Additional Details
A staff member named Sam is highly regarded by customers, with some following him from his previous restaurant, Chin Chin. The restaurant is appreciated for maintaining traditional Cantonese flavors without being overly Americanized or excessively salty.
Vegetarian options availableVegan options available
Best Times to Visit
While no specific 'best times' are mentioned, reviews suggest avoiding peak times like holidays (e.g., Christmas Day) or when large groups are present, as service and food quality can be affected. It seems to be a popular neighborhood spot, so weekdays or off-peak hours might offer a more consistent experience.
4
This should be more like a 4.5 star review. As someone who is Cantonese and grew up eating this cuisine, I can say with confidence that this restaurant delivers one of the most authentic Cantonese dining experiences here in the UES. While there are no traditional dim sum carts rolling through the dining room, the made-to-order approach actually works in their favor. Each dish arrives fresh from the kitchen, beautifully presented and piping hot. The har gow have delicate, translucent wrappers with juicy, perfectly seasoned shrimp inside. The siu mai are tender and flavorful, and the char siu bao are light and fluffy with a balanced sweet-savory barbecue pork filling. The cheung fun are silky smooth, and the dumplings — whether steamed or pan-fried — have just the right texture, with fresh, well-seasoned fillings that aren’t greasy or overly salty. Dinner is equally impressive. The fried rice has a clean, balanced flavor, and definitely not overly greasy. The noodles are springy and satisfying, layered with depth without feeling heavy. And the Peking duck is a highlight: the skin is crisp and lacquered, the meat tender and juicy. Beyond the food, the restaurant itself stands out. It’s very clean, spacious, and thoughtfully decorated, creating a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. The dining room feels bright and open rather than dark and crowded, which makes it perfect for both family gatherings and relaxed dinners. What I appreciate most is that the flavors stay true to Cantonese tradition. The dishes aren’t overly Americanized or excessively salty, which enables you to taste the true flavors of the fresh ingredients. Highly recommend!
The lunch specials here are more expensive than in other Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood. The prices are higher ($35.95 for 2 orders, tax included) but do not come with soup, soda or egg roll offered by others.
The food is ok. They did accommodate my request to have a vegetable dish made into a lunch portion because the list for lunch specials is limited.
Love the food here. Always fresh and really tasty. The staff is awesome. We followed Sam from Chin Chin and we can only say good things about this restaurant. We usually order takeout and it comes as hot with fresh duck sauce and mustard. Highly recommend!
We ordered calamari which has no dipping sauce included,pan fried veg dumplings which is so greasy,egg roll also greasy after 10mins of our appetizer came,a group of people around 40 just arrived all together and as soon as the people seated,the waiter served all their appetizers and it was all same as what we have ordered
We were wondering why when we gave our order the food came in less than 5minutes,but the moment when we saw same appetizers that was been served on the big group then we knew why it was quick
Too probably the food was been sitting for few minutes then we ordered same item they might have reheated those food that ended up serving oily and greasy
So we just finished our food and asked for the bill and left.
Will might gave them a chance to visit it again but will make sure that there will be no huge group
Really not impressed with service and food. Mushu pork came all burned…
And when they were clearing the table they dropped the leftovers all over my friend’s phone and almost spilled over on me too. The waiter later came to apologize again but we had to ask for more napkins/wipes so they would remember. No one offered to help clean my friend’s phone.
