China Chef — Restaurant in North St. Paul

AWFUL AWFUL EXPERIENCE. And owner is liar and cheat. I went here recently for dinner. The waitress who took my order and had been working with me almost delivered someone else's order to my table. I had to tell her it wasn't mine. I ordered General Tso's chicken. The waitress sent that to someone else's table who had no mind to say it wasn't theirs. A different waiter comes to tell me that my order was sent to the wrong table and asked if I would like sesame chicken instead. I said that I did not want that. I would like my original order. (Why even ask that? If I wanted sesame chicken I would have ordered that.) He proceeded to continue asking me if I would take the sesame chicken. No! I don't understand how many times I have to say, No! He leaves and returns no more than 5 minute's later and hands me a plate and tells me this is my order of General Tso's chicken. It has sesame seeds all over it but vegetables added to it. Seriously? I asked the waiter if it was the sesame chicken and he said yes but with vegetables! I sent it back and said I no longer want the General Tso's chicken. He stated he was sorry it was what his boss told him to do. The original waitress never came back and couldn't spend 2 seconds to apologize for messing up. And the owner just straught out shamelessly LIED!!!!! Poor guy took the fall for it all. If I wasn't with my kids I would have gotten up and walked out for the blatant lie and shameless act. But I had to calmly tell them how unacceptable what they did is. And how upset I was. Without ruining the rest of dinner. I will not go back or support a business that does not care about...

Over the past decade we've been here a lot. Recently in the past several years they've started to serve pho (Vitnamese noodle soup) with broth, herbs, and meats. I've tried many other places in Brooklyn Park and Minneapolis especially but none have been comparable to these guys. This past weekend we've come to have pho and also got a side of spring rolls and fried sugar donuts. They've got a good menu but this is worth the try, especially if you're driving through and want something close by. The sugar donuts right out are a great delectiable just melts in your mouth. The spring rolls were fresh and they're made with both shrimp and beef I believe. Now to the pho, we had the regular beef noodle pho. The meat was made just perfect and placed with the right amount of basil and bean sprouts. Best pho I've had in a while, it's not oily and the meats weren't fatty, like some other vietnamese restaurants in Minnesota I've been to. I wish they were near me but definitely the best pho around. Worth the drive every time. Highly recommend!

Atmosphere: 5 (It may not look like a lot from the outside but a wonderful place inside. Very spacious and well lit by the windows.) Food Quality: 5 (Fast, large portions - the fried donuts can feed at least, well for me 1 for most a small group. Nice to know they do catering as well!) Service: 5 (Seated right away, their service is so good that some times they accidently bring out doubles. Really kind individuals.) Cleaniness: 5 (Come for the food)

Stars 5: Will...

I recently visited China Chef in North Saint Paul and was very disappointed with both the service and how my situation was handled. I placed an order for one beef fried rice, two shrimp fried rice, and three orders of chicken wings. After paying, I waited about 10 minutes before a woman from the restaurant approached me and asked if it would be okay to mix my beef fried rice with chicken fried rice. Before I could respond, her husband interrupted, and she quickly said, “Don’t worry about it,” and walked away. I assumed my order would be correct and exactly how I placed it.

When I got home, I discovered that my beef fried rice had been mixed with shrimp fried rice. I immediately called the restaurant to explain the issue, especially because I have a shrimp allergy. Instead of listening or offering a solution, the woman on the phone raised her voice and claimed I had approved the change. I made it clear I never spoke to her husband and did not agree to any substitutions. Her response was dismissive and unprofessional: “I don’t know what to tell you.”

There was no offer to fix the mistake, refund my money, or take accountability. The restaurant closed shortly after I called, so I was left with food I couldn’t eat and a very frustrating experience.

Situations like this are upsetting—not just because of a wrong order, but because of the complete lack of customer care. I...