Lotus Cafe — Restaurant in Hackensack

This restaurant has been around for years, and I finally felt the need to write a review because of how much it has changed—unfortunately, not for the better.

The biggest improvement is definitely the décor. It used to look very dated, but they’ve made an effort to modernize the space and it shows. Sadly, that’s where the positives end.

The food has declined noticeably. Dishes that used to be flavorful, like the Ma Po Tofu with Minced Pork, are now bland and forgettable. My Hot & Sour Soup was so lacking in taste that I had to add salt just to get through it. Overall, the food looks and smells appetizing, but the flavors just don’t deliver anymore. What used to feel like the occasional “off day” now feels like the norm.

The service has also gone downhill. Staff members used to be friendly and attentive, but now they’re cold and disengaged. It takes raising your hand multiple times just to be acknowledged, and even then, they often don’t come back. Getting basic service feels like a chore. To make matters worse, they push for cash tips despite the poor service, which is frustrating.

It’s disappointing to see a place we once loved decline so much. At this point, it feels like it’s no longer worth our time or money, and we’ll likely be finding another spot for...

First of all. I really hate to do this because I know that food businesses are struggling right now, but for me to spend over $75 on dinner and get the trash that I got is really a PROBLEM. Let's start with my barbecue spare ribs. They were drenched in oil and dry as hell. No BBQ sauce on them whatsoever. I ordered salt and pepper calamari, and when I got home it was soggy, gross and barely any flavor to it. I got what they call a 10 ingredient fried rice, and all I saw was two shrimp, pieces of chicken that tasted old and like rubber, and a lot of peas in the rice. I also got cold sesame noodles. I couldn't even pull them apart and they tasted like plastic. I used to go to this place for years. Like I said before I don't want to write something like this about a food business, but when you go there and you're spending over $75 and the staff looks like they're mad at the entire universe, I can easily say that enough is enough. It was different before. It's just really sad that this area in New Jersey does not have at least one Chinese restaurant that's even close to being decent. This is sad because there was a time when this place was really good..... I know that this is coming from someone that orders from this place...

Placed a dinner order for pickup. Hong Kong was closed so was trying this place out since I've heard good things, considered making this a regular if they were better. Nope. Got a call that they were out of Chow Fun. Very disappointing. Ordered shrimp with lobster sauce and pork fried rice, as well as a large Wonton and Egg Drop Soup Mix and Beef Lo Mein. Mistake.

The soup and the shrimp with lobster sauce, as well as the pork fried rice tasted HORRIBLE and it was like they completely forgot to even use any salt whatsoever. I've never in my life had to add salt to Chinese food before in any state I lived in. Absolutely shocking. The soup not only didn't have any salt, but it just tasted bad, the wontons were disgusting and TINY. I've never gotten such tiny wontons before, they were half the size you get anywhere else. The only thing that actually tastes good was the Lo Mein.

Meanwhile 20 minutes after eating, my stomach started hurting very badly, and you can imagine the rest....