(617) 426-8181
34 Oxford St
Boston,
MA
02111
42.3515
-71.0601
Neighborhoods: Chinatown, Central, Downtown, Chinatown / Leather District
Hours:
Sunday To Saturday From 11:00 AM To 01:00 AM
Price:
$$
Last updated 8.16.11
Category:
Payment Methods:
Cash
Restaurant Special Features:
Cuisine:
Smoking Permitted:
No
What People Are Saying About Taiwan Cafe
Featured Review
Contributor
Contributor
Think Taiwanese food means Chinese food? Think again, especially over the salty, tangy, textured fare. Mostly Asian-American families fill the bright, but otherwise nondescript, dining room. For the brave, there's fried pork intestines, chilled jellyfish with garlic, spicy pork ears and five-spice duck tongue. More conventional options include scallion pancakes, gigantic bowls of soup and the can't-miss basil eggplant. Handmade steamed dumplings and raviolis make for perfect starters. Portions are huge across the board; its best to order one or two dishes at a time. Those looking for dessert…
Editor's Tips
- Know Before You Go:
- Taiwan Cafe accepts cash only.
- When to Go:
- Huge lunch specials cost $6 each, or $16.95 for three.
- When to Go:
- Huge lunch specials, available for a pittance, include daily soup and white rice, served weekdays from 11am-4pm.
- Look Good:
- If you're comfortable with the menu and have an eager, hungry group at the table, the multi-course Special Taiwan Style Banquet is available upon request.
- What to Drink:
- Tsingtao Beer is the only alcoholic libation available.
| ambiance | 100.0% positive |
|
|---|---|---|
| food quality | 87.88000106811523% positive |
|
| menu variety | 100.0% positive |
|
| overall | 100.0% positive |
|
| service | 66.66999816894531% positive |
|
| value | 100.0% positive |
|
| wait time | 100.0% positive |
|
Good food but service terrible!
by XiaoTianShi at Citysearch
When the near-by Dumpling House was full and people were waiting in line outside the restaurant, we decided to go to Taiwanese Cafe instead. The food was good and similar to Dumpling House, so I wondered how come this place wasn't even full on a Saturday night. But soon we found out WHY! 1st....the waitress was extremely rude. She gave us this face right from the start. When we ordered some sodas, she just dropped the cans on the table...not even to individual person who ordered it! 2nd....after we finished eating, we gave her the credit card, and she said "cash only". Wish they put up a big huge sign on the door saying "cash only"! 3rd...we left 15% tips on the table, the second we got up, she took the tips right away and then say in her native language (I understand partially) loudly complaining about our tips to another waitress! Come on, for her service and we still paid 15%? She should thank god already! We'll never ever go back again even the food was good! We should never be treated like this when we are the ones paying for the service!
Authentic chinese food
by gregd on cs , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch
Good restaurants and Chinatown don't go hand in hand. Of all the restaurants I have tried in Chinatown I prefer Taiwan Cafe. It appears reasonably clean, the prices are good, and the food tastes good. When we go we have a native speaker order for us and that probably solves any problems that might arise. It's authentic, cheap, fast and good. Not a date place, just a food place.
- Pros: Quick, authentic, good
- Cons: Crowded
Go somewhere else
by sodoku2008 at Citysearch
Ok - this place is definitely in Chinatown.
Anyways - the service is terrible. Our waitress misunderstood our order, got it wrong, brought it to the table, and then argued with us for several minutes insisting that we were wrong. After telling us we were wrong she insisted that we take the wrong order anyway and had a terrible attitude. We took the wrong order anyway, an oyster omelette, and it wasn't that good.
I ordered a noodle soup with flat noodles and vegetables. The noodles were not that great. I've had several much better noodle soups before.
Other friend ordered wonton/noodle soup which he wasn't a big fan of.
Other than cheap prices, there are much better place to eat taiwanese food than here. I will never go back.
- Pros: Price
- Cons: Serivce, food just ok
Maybe I ordered the wrong thing?
by LingboLi at Citysearch
My friend and I wandered in, looking for a light dinner. Except Chinese meals don't really work that way - you gotta order a ton. And a good deal we did - seafood congee, a noodle and beef dish, and a app of spicy beef tendon. The tendon was thinly sliced and tasty, but we request some extra spice for more of a kick. The seafood porridge didn't have the kind of thick, glutinous quality, and could have used some extra seasoning. But it was huge, filling, and comforting, at least. Finally, the lo mein hit the spot with a bit of oily goodness. Not transcendental by any means, but maybe we just didn't order the right dishes.
Phenomenal Authentic Food at an Excellent Price
by dlgclement at Citysearch
This is a no-frills dining experience that focuses on the food. The food is very authentic, very fresh, great portions. The menu is big and exciting! You cannot beat the price at this restaurant, either, which makes everything an amazing value.
Great place for lunch with friends during work. Service and kitchen are fast.You can get in, eat a great meal, and get out in reasonable time. Although the place really looks like a hole in the wall and there is nothing average about the place settings, you'll be having so much fun with the food you wouldn't even notice. Very charming.
- Pros: Variety and taste of food
- Cons: Hole-in-the-wall atmosphere
The Details on Taiwan Cafe
Place Categories:
- authentic chinese food
- fast service
- great taiwanese restaurant
- authentic chinese restaurant
- reasonable prices
- big menu
- pretty great place
- favorite dish
- superb steamed buns
- great meal
- yummy home style braise eggplant
- very authentic great portions
- great value
- flat noodles
- excellent taiwanstyle noodles
- amazingly good wonton soup
- yum
- absolutely delicious specials
- like brunch
- highly recommend pork
- fast kitchen
- great taiwanese
- yummy steamed taro
- not big fan
- not order right dishes

