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!
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!
Despite being seated fairly quickly on a very crowded Christmas Day and receiving our appetizer right away, the rest of the experience was disappointing. After the appetizer, the wait for our entrées felt endless, with no apology or updates from our waitress unless I specifically asked, and my son was falling asleep by the time the food arrived. The service issues continued when my waitress refused to make my moo shu pancakes, saying it was too busy, and I had to rely on another staff member for help. The food itself was also problematic with my vegetable fried rice contained little more than peas, and while the sesame chicken was tasty at first, I unfortunately discovered a hair in it. Although the dish was removed from the bill, inconsistent service, and food quality concerns left me with a very negative impression when I left the restaurant.
I love this place. A friend who grew up in HK took me here years ago and whenever I'm in the area, I make sure to stop by. The food is fresh and delicious. The space is comfortable, clean, the atmosphere is mellow, and I enjoy sitting by the huge windows watching people walk by. Clearly it's a neighborhood place, since the owners warmly greet many customers by name. Favorite dishes are the dry sauteed green beans, any chef special dishes, Peking chicken. My family always requests to bring home the chicken (or beef) with broccoli and dim sum items.
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