Shen Cafe

8 Reviews on “Shen Cafe”

• JessicaT

  Shen’s has applied a food concept like Chipotle or Panera, the fast-casual model where you can pick things to go together, and there’s a convenient and clear ordering system with nicely dressed, English-speaking Asians behind the counter. While I applaud these guys for their focus on making Chinese food less scary for white people, it’s just not that good. I cringe when I write this, but even PF Changs has better food. Due to the good reviews, I ordered beef and broccoli, expecting a higher quality beef than your run of the mill Chinese takeout. I thought, how can you mess up beef and broccoli, and, maybe it’ll actually have good quality flank steak in it? Bad idea: The beef was fat, stringy, and tasted of cheap (the cheap, cheap, blood-tasting beef), just like any other dive. Worst of all, there was less beef, undercooked broccoli, and it cost more. The bubble tea was fine – there are very few ways to mess that up. My husband got another Chinese stalwart of breaded meat (either General tso or sweet and sour pork) and said that it was too bready and some of the worst that he’s ever had. Look, I like fresh-casual cafes. I just don’t think Shen’s done a good job putting the fresh-casual business model on a Chinese restaurant because the recipes (or execution thereof) aren’t good enough to warrant it. Bottom-line: I know there’s not good access to (good) Chinese food on the South side, but I’d rather drive all the way across town for Ming’s House (Bethany). In fact, I’d rather brave Imperial Palace (N 27th) or Eggroll King (Edgewood). We won’t return for anything but bubble tea

  October 12, 2015, 5:37 am

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