Kozy Kitchen 食堂 — Restaurant in Boston

A warm, ‘kozy’ restaurant that I would absolutely recommend for authentic Chinese food! This no-frills restaurant was still busy with deliveries when I arrived with my party, but the person working (which we learned was the owner) there was so welcoming and friendly. When we arrived at around 7 at night, it was pretty easy to find street parking on the side streets. When my table with some elderly had some trouble with the QR code scanning for menus, she handed us actual menus without asking which I was very grateful for as many places don’t do paper menus anymore. We ended up ordering the beef noodle soup, cumin lamb, juicy pork buns aka soup dumplings, chive and pork pan fried dumplings, fish filet with sour napa, and chive pockets. All of these items arrived so quickly and were so delicious! One of my friends said it was the first time he had something this good since he left home. The 红烧牛肉面 beef noodle soup came steaming hot with chewy 好弹牙 ‘QQ’ texture noodles and the beef had the perfect amount of chew and soft tenderness. The 孜然羊肉 cumin lamb was amazingly spicy with all the classic garnishes including onion and cilantro, while the 韭菜水饺 pan fried (pan fried is an extra +$1) chive dumplings and 韭菜盒子chive pockets were crowd favorites for sure! When we were chatting with the owner, she was so sweet and let us know that all the noodles, dumpling wrappers, and baos are handmade! The pan fried chive dumplings and chive pockets had that perfect 酥皮 flakey crispy outside but super flavorful, fragrant, steamy hot inside. The 小笼包 juicy pork buns is now one of my favorites in the Boston area as the skin was thin but buns were super juicy and meaty. Tip—ask for their homemade chili oil for an extra kick on all your dishes. I personally am not a big fish fan, but I tried a bit of the 东北酸菜鱼 fish filet with sour Napa and as a new dish to me, I would describe it as tasty but quite sour. My table found the fish quite good and the sour Napa to be fresh especially as soup with white rice. We also tried their handmade buns at the end of dinner and it was the perfect end to a 10/10 dinner. Our total came to around $80 dollars before tip. I will definetly be back to try out the rest of their extensive menu—which has something for everyone from lo mein to dumplings...

★☆☆☆☆ I had a very disappointing experience here.

Before coming in, I called to ask about the lunch special for Mapo Tofu, which was listed online for $9.95. The woman on the phone confirmed multiple times that this was correct, that the lunch special was available, and that the dish was vegetarian. When I tried to ask more questions, she just kept repeating “yes, yes, yes.” Based on this confirmation, I placed an order and went to the restaurant.

When I arrived, the signage was confusing — outside it says Kozy Kitchen, the website says Beijing Cafe, and the phone was answered as Beijing Kitchen. I asked if I was in the right place, and instead of clarifying politely, the woman started yelling that it hadn’t been called Beijing Cafe in years. I apologized and explained I was just going by the website and phone information, but she kept raising her voice.

At the register, she suddenly told me the dish was $14.75 — far higher than the $9.95 she had confirmed on the phone. When I reminded her of our earlier conversation, she insisted I “didn’t understand anything” and claimed the phone information was outdated. She then showed me a paper menu stating the lunch special is $12.75 plus a $2 weekend surcharge. None of this was disclosed over the phone, and when I pointed that out, she kept yelling.

As for the food: the Mapo Tofu sauce tasted like ketchup mixed with soy sauce and a few peppercorns to fake spiciness. The rice portion was tiny. Honestly, it was the worst Mapo Tofu I’ve ever had. There were only two other people there — which, given my experience, isn’t surprising. And of course, the packaging was sloppy.

I came in wanting to support a small business and had no issue paying the correct price. What I take issue with is being misled on the phone, baited with a cheaper price, then scolded and disrespected in person. The entire experience felt dishonest, unprofessional, and hostile...

Order: Mapo tofu with rice. Food: Super subpar. The sauce tasted oddly sweet—more like a ketchup + soy sauce mix than anything resembling authentic mapo tofu.

Pricing issue: I was quoted one price over the phone but charged a higher price in-store. When I asked, I didn’t get a clear explanation. It came off as predatory pricing to me.

Reviews may be outdated: It seems there may be new ownership, and the quality now doesn’t match the older high ratings—so the overall Google score feels inflated compared to my experience.

Bottom line: If you’re expecting authentic flavors and transparent pricing, I’d...