Hop Lee

The $9 lunch special grabbed our attention but the Cantonese lobster 🦞 looked too good to pass up. We ate every bite. Cooked perfectly and cracked beautifully so we enjoyed every morsel. Absolutely delicious.

Love the walnut and shrimp dish and the flounder fish is very fresh. Even the razor clams which plump. Not the biggest fan of the seafood soup.

A discover we made, very good prices and good portions; Hop Lee is the right place to eat if you want to be comfortable and quiet. This place only accepts cash , so be sure that u have it. They have like a lunch menu from 11 to 5 , plates are smaller but enough for 1. We spend $20 for two, ordering sesame chicken, beef with Chinese vegetables and two portions of rice. When you sit they bring a teapot with a tea i never knew what it was. Good attention.

Great old style cantonese food. Good service, not fast food chinese style. Have been eating here for a long , long time. Never disappoints. Recently opened back up for business. Followed rules for Covid safety. Food was excellent. Still the best place for authentic Cantonese food.

My mother and I decided to have Christmas lunch at Hop Lee. The restaurant has been a family favorite for a while, and once again, it did not disappoint. The wait staff is always attentive and is always making sure that everything is ok. During our lunch we ordered the Shrimp with Walnut, the Sin Koo Steak Kew, and the Ginger Scallion Chicken. The dishes were very tasty and we left very satisfied. So, if you are ever looking for a restaurant to check out in Chinatown. Please give Hop Lee a chance.

My family wanted Cantonese food for dinner, so we went here to try their food. The restaurant is very small. There were too many waiters that just stood around doing nothing. We ordered a simple dish which they managed to make very poorly. The stir fried broad rice noodles w vegetables were dry and bland! You can see from the picture that there is minimal seasoning and no green vegetables. We have had it much better elsewhere! It was really disappointing. The other dishes were fine. The restaurant accepts cash only. We would not return if they paid us cash!

We tried this restaurant as many customers entered so decided to check it out. Ordered 3 dishes, hot and sour soup and garlic beef were pretty good but sezchuan chicken was terrible we just tried and returned it. Resume, depends on your order you can get a tasty dish. Reasonable priced and portions are good.

Authentic old school Cantonese style food! My Chinese family and I enjoyed a private event here with exceptional flavors and excellent service. Everything was prepared perfectly, the food is high quality. The Cantonese fried lobster fried with egg and pork was my favorite, the beef tenderloin with veggies were also good. The walnut shrimp and friend fish filet were impressive. Come here for authentic food!

I'll do another review after I come back to have the lobster . IMPORTANT: NO CREDIT CARDS. CASH ONLY. CASH ONLY. There are some nearby banks. Walk around the corner to get cash!! Today-June 25, 2025 Enjoyed my Lunch Special Shrimp w/cashews. June 2025. Came w/Soup. I didn't care for the "vegetable soup", b/c it tasted like the water used to boil bok choy. I'd pass on that. But I will come back to try lobster . Today was 96 degrees, and in HOT WEATHER, my appetite is less. I really wanted to enjoy the lobster today, because the photos look great. I am looking forward to returning to try the yummy looking lobster dishes--I have only seen the photos and they look very good. So, I must come back. REMEMBER-CASH ONLY !! NO CREDIT CARDS.

Solid Chinese food and definitely hits the spot when craving some authentic Cantonese cuisine. I've been to Hop Lee once to dine in for a banquet style meal and also got some takeout entrees on another occasion and the food here is pretty much on par with the average Cantonese-style restaurants around - probably even a bit better. I've had a chance to try dishes like their Fish Filet with Tofu, Yi Mein (Longevity Noodles) with Mushrooms, Beef Cubes with String Beans, Sauteed Lobster with Ginger and Fried Oysters and I can't really say a bad thing about any of it. All of it was truly good and the way they SHOULD taste based on my experiences eating them from other restaurants. The food was fresh, flavorful and delicious. With this said, I will say that the Beef Cubes with String Beans REALLLLLY stood out though because the beef was soooooo tender. It was some of the most tender beef cubes I've ever had in my life, so major kudos to the chef in the back who worked his magic on that. On the occasion that I dined in, the food came out quite fast and furious, but, once again, everything was super fresh and on the spot. No complaints at all. On a block dominated by Wo Hop and Ping's, it's hard to really compete against those powerhouses, BUT, if you can't find a seat at either of those other restaurants, Hop Lee is no slouch.

The restaurant maintains consistency that builds trust. The staff delivers impeccable standards alongside exceptional food. This place leaves me searching for better praise. The food experience climbed to new heights with each plate. Our meal here was excellent.

Great service. Good food. Highly recommended Great lobster Cantonese and fried duck.

My mother and I decided to have Christmas lunch at Hop Lee. The restaurant has been a family favorite for a while, and once again, it did not disappoint. The wait staff is always attentive and is always making sure that everything is ok. During our lunch we ordered the Shrimp with Walnut, the Sin Koo Steak Kew, and the Ginger Scallion Chicken. The dishes were very tasty and we left very satisfied. So, if you are ever looking for a restaurant to check out in Chinatown. Please give Hop Lee a chance.

We tried the duck... it was beyond our expectations! Service was fast and although we didn't have to wait for a table, when we left, we noticed a long line had formed.

My Chinese family's favorite place for dinner. We've been coming here for more than 20 years. If you want the really good food, you'll need the all-Chinese menu, or ask the waiter (in Chinese) what to get and he'll list off what's fresh at the moment. My fav fishes are the steak cubes, fried flounder, any casserole dish (like braised fish with tofu), salt and pepper anything (pork chops, frog legs, shrimp), razor clams, whole steamed fish, ginger scallion lobster, seafood with deep fried tofu cubes, black bean clams, snails, yee mein, seafood in fried basket, so many others.

5 stars for service, 5 stars for food. There's no better lunch special in the area! For 7.50, you can get a entre pretty much the size of a dinner entre with rice AND soup. The soup is a very hearty bone broth served first. I ordered the salt and pepper pork chops and my partner ordered general tso's chicken. Everything was well cooked and seasoned and we had enough to even take home.

Great service, amazing food, and excellent price! Love their lobsters--you must try them!

Great food in Chinatown. Used to come here as a kid, so it's always fun to bring my kids when we are visiting NYC. It's very traditional looking in terms of what Chinatown restaurants look like. You get lots of food, so you can definitely share.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 Party of 2 at noon. We entered and sat at the table of our choice as the restaurant was empty but, quickly filled up to a line waiting. Water and Tea was brought along with a warm welcome greeting. Our lunch consist of... Chinese broccoli sauteed with Chinese sausage and preserved pork belly. Very tasty and homestyle. Clams in black bean sauce. Love that they give plenty of gravy to go with the rice. These clams were fresh and we were told in season. So delicious. Pan fried pork patties with saltfish..salt fish... and acquired taste. Homestyle dish. Very good. Meal came with 3 bowls of rice and house soup which had watercress. And one diet coke with ice. Service and staff are friendly and quick. I have been dining here for decades so when one of the owners sees me it is always a BIG DEAL.

The food was just a bit better than average. But definitely tourist prices. No longer a local place for regulars. Service was fast but not friendly.

Unfortunate circumstances brought me back to Hop Lee after a funeral, but it also reminded me why this is the place we go. My husband is a pretty picky eater and he very much so enjoyed the pan fried noodles from here. They actually didn't have any more thin noodles for the pain fried noodles so suggested a thicker noodle. Having nothing really to eat with the set menu we got, he agreed and it turned out to be the best and now his favorite kind! It was just plain chicken, sauce and chinese broccoli, but it tasted clean and wasn't heavy. We were very happy to have the suggestions from Chen and Sunny who also recognized me from earlier in the week because we were back to get him more :) As for the other food, it was all very good. The steak, lobster, roasted pork/jellyfish, pan fried filet, mayo shrimp, etc. The ambiance is plain and not so fancy, but the food and staff are good. The staff was super nice and accommodating and many of them also spoke English so a definite plus for non-chinese speaking people like my husband :)

The food was good, I definitely want to go back here to try some more dishes especially the general tso chicken. They serve tea with the food here. CASH ONLY by the way and you don't feel obligated to tip here but you can if you want to.

Came here for my mom's birthday lunch. We ordered a ton of dishes off their menu but the standouts were definitely the peking duck and their seafood. I especially enjoyed the clams in black bean sauce - balanced flavors and not too salty unlike other spots. Service was on point as well. They were quick and pleasant. Will definitely be back.

It is an old fashioned no-frills simple authentic Chinese/Cantonese restaurant. However the food was amazing and the price was unbelievably cheap. Their lunch special is $7.50 which including steamed rice and house soup; some special seafood dishes are only a dollar more. I love their house made Pickled Mustard Green with sliced pork. It was under seafood section but I always asked the waiter to change it to pork instead of fish cake. Their pickled mustard green was a right balance of sweet and sour. I could easily finish 2 bowls of rice if I didn't have to cut down on carbohydrates. Also their Beef with Bitter Melon was my other favorite dish. The tender beef with the black soybean sauce balance the bitterness of the melon. I didn't like eating bitter melon when I was young but now I appreciate the health benefits of this melon. It is also a common dish for Chinese family. The classic dish of stir-fried Beef Chow Fun was super popular. This succulent dish was a combination of well marinated beef slices with soft spongy rice noodles topped with crunchy bean sprouts and scallions. It was full of flavor with each bite. I like that it wasn't oily as I sometime found this dish quite queasy at other places. This is a great place for foodies but not a fancy restaurant. So it won't hurt to give it a try since the price is cheap.

What is going to Chinatown in New York and getting nothing to eat? There are so many choices and varieties of restaurants serving up multiple Chinese cuisines, it was hard to choose. So we didn't. We just went into the first one that caught our eyes. When you enter Hop Lee, you go down a flight of stairs into a small space with low ceilings. They have a wide variety of items, but we realized they we cash only, and we didn't have much cash. I ended up getting hot tea and drunken noodles. We also shared a hot and sour soup. For a restaurant with a large menu and many unique choices, we stuck with what we could pay for in cash. The food was very good. We appreciate the service we had and hope to try this again when we have cash in hand.

We've been making an effort to explore more Cantonese restaurants outside of our usual rotation! I heard good things about Hop Lee and wanted to give it a go. We made a reservation for 4, but we probably didn't need one. If you have a larger party I'd definitely suggest a res. This place is cash only, so make sure to have cash on hand before coming in. We ordered pretty light and only got a few entrees. We ordered salt and pepper pork chop, pea shoots, chow mein with seafood and walnut shrimp. Some people hate on it..... but walnut shrimp is my fav. If you hate Mayo, stay away, but I thought it was really good here. The salt and pepper pork chop and pea shoots were average (I've had great versions elsewhere). The noodles are a must order, and next time I'd probably try with a different protein.

Almost forgot about this place but lovely comfort Cantonese food. It's one of Chinatown's OGs (many of them are gone now) and no frills. Don't expect fancy but it did get the craving fixed! Faves are the Canto style lobster (although small this time), conch and tofu and walnut shrimp.

The food lacked flavor! I'm sad because I decided to try a new restaurant in Chinatown instead of my usual one when visiting NY. The service was quick however as a new vegan I specifically asked for no meat and my egg roll still came with pork in it. The feel of the restaurant is very homey! I would recommend Wok Hop across the street instead!

The food was excellent!! True Chinese food where you can't go back to ordering pork fried rice from your local Hot Wok. The service was good too, everyone was friendly and attentive. The restaurant has a simple lay out which is fine with me when the food is good. Will recommend for affordable family style traditional Chinese food. Will be coming back with friends.

Amazing food, authentic, and fresh. The food here is made daily. I've been coming here for 40 years plus and I love it. They remember me they treat me like family and I would go no other place in Chinatown but them. Thank you for always serving me my family.

Best Chinese food in Chinatown...been there for banquet parties and the food's been great, esp. their Peking duck; try their fish specialties and other chef specials. Manager Johnny is very friendly and awesome, and very accommodating. Great prices too. However it is cash only and closed on Sundays, so go to the ATM beforehand. Highly recommend.

I have never had bad Chinese food in my life until last night. It wasn't jsut bland - it actually tasted bad. I never imagined how dumplings can be bad. Very bland chicken dish with lots of vegetables and scant chicken. One of the beef dishes we ordered, was a foul tasting mystery meat. Never again.

Came to eat during their lunch hours (11-4) their highest priced item is 8.50 and they have .50 chsrge for uneaten food or take home leftover per container which is very reasonable. The food come out quickly and their is a lot of space but a tight space for about 50-75 people if needed. We were seated right away. We got a good amount of food (though we were thinking of ordering more but pace yourself as you can get full quickly). Everyone took their time but it didnt feel too long. The food ws a hit or miss if it came out hot. Two of the dishes were warm but it wasn't inedible. The food tasted really good regardless of their temperature. We ordered a side or rice as well to go with out food. Food order was as follows: String beans with garlic 4.5/5 the chunks or garlic instead of it being grated knocks it down a bit 3 meat lo mein 4.5/5 came out cold but was delicious tasting Beef with tomato 4/5 came out a little cold and tomato chunkc were too big but food was still delicious tasting General Tso Chicken 5/5 it was amazing

Small little spot in China Town. You can dine in and they give you a small pot of tea at your table. Prices are way cheaper than the Chinese restaurants in the immediate area. Their lunch specials are definitely worth it. The food is good and you can get full under $10 which is impressive in that area.

While strolling through Chinatown in NYC, we chose this classic Cantonese food restaurant. The prices for lunch are so reasonable and the atmosphere is very homey. We sat at a large round table along with two separate local patrons that we chatted with. We shared the Szechuan Shrimp and the Shrimp with cashew nuts $7.50 which also came with rice, soup and tea. Served between 11-4 Monday to Friday. Everything was delicious and authentic. The service was nice and efficient.

I've eaten here countless times over decades, but it appears it's under new management -- and I was stunned by how much better the food was in my most recent visit! In particular the garlic roast chicken is soooo delightful -- on par or better than the one from Congee Village that Pete Wells once named the best chicken in NY. And the black bean lobster is one of the best renditions I've had of this traditional Cantonese dishes in years. Service was also better than I remembered. The guys were attentive, kind, and their English was pretty good! The ambiance is very meh, but the reason you go is for authentic old school Cantonese food!

The room is way too bright. Felt like we were being rushed out from the minute we sat down. The food came out all at once and way too fast. Food quality was average.

Hop Lee was named #61 Top 100 NYC restaurants in the New York Times. Great deal on lunch specials. Only $7.50. Cash only. Includes your entree, complimentary soup, rice, and very sweet oranges. I'm surprised they kept lunch specials at $7.50 when most places are double that amount. Steamed fish and beef belly lunch specials were good.

Good food Have the dim sum... you cannot stop eating them All of them Way to good!! Place ambiance eh, but I don't care... food is good

My mom's family grew up five minutes from here and this was one of their go to spots for decades. The restaurant remain solid. Though probably not the very best Chinese food I've ever had. Everything I've ordered has ranged from good to very good with some occasionally excellent options, and nothing that I've ever disliked. The fried rice is flavorful, and the sweet-and-sour chicken is crunchy and tasty. The eggrolls, the chow mein, and the spare ribs are all very good choices, though I do wish the spareribs were a little juicier. The restaurant specializes in Cantonese food and has an extensive menu. They're also capable of making dishes that are not featured on the menu if you know what to ask for. For example, the yakamein soup is excellent. I recommend thin noodles. The overall feel is what you would expect for an older Chinatown restaurant - smaller, more intimate, nothing fancy, but attentive service and old school ingredients (hot mustard that is actually hot).

Been going to Hop Lee for over 30 years and it's a hidden gem across the street from the more known Wo Hop but little do the tourist know Hop Lee food is actually better and best of all no lines and waiting

It's been a while since I've been back here. I've been wanting to return for a while. We decided to come here for a quick lunch. The restaurant is small, but very very cozy, especially when it's cold outside. The place is comprised of round tables that seat up to 6 people and booths. The walls are white and covered with pictures and decorations, but it is otherwise very minimally styled. The kitchen is visible as well. When we got here, we got seated immediately. We ordered beef with scrambled eggs, squid with pickled mustard green, barbecued butter fish and buddha's delight lunch special menu. Everything came out fast and tasted great just as we last remembered. By the time, we were done with our meal, the place was full. Service was fast and friendly. Will definitely return when in the neighborhood to try other items on the menu!

Food was good but the AC was blasting too cold and made the dine in experience very uncomfortable. The people that worked there refused to turn it down or re route the direction for some reason. Not an enjoyable experience.

My family has been coming to Hop Lee for decades and the food never disappoints. So many dishes to choose from, you could never go wrong. And trust me, sometimes we stray from our roots and try somewhere else in Chinatown, but nothing compares and we regret even thinking of going elsewhere. The staff are all so friendly and the service is unmatched. Even when they're really busy, the manager always makes sure to check in on the group. Must order: lobster Cantonese style, Peking duck, beef chow fun, fried flounder cubes

Delicious food and attentive and excellent service. We had the the following dishes: fish fillet with vegetables, salt and pepper squid, General Tso's Chicken, beef and vegetable chow fun, and sauteed string beans. All the dishes were of great portions and very tasty. We have been here several times and highly recommend Hop Lee to all our friends.

Really, really authentic Chinese fare. Careful what you wish for ;). This place basically sucked imo. I'd rate the food 2stars, but it does deliver what it advertised, so to be fair I have to leave 4. Real Cantonese fare. It was not to my liking, but then again, I have a more western palette. I found everything to be extremely bland and overall odd, bordering on unpleasant. The eggplant dish could gave been so good, but there wasn't enough eggplant and it was so bland and unoriginal. Half a shaker of salt couldn't save it. (Like the way they cut up all the chicken with the little bones and everything. No sides, no nothing. I don't like fighting with my food. The dumplings had just a bit of like, boiled pork or something, just really 'gamey' and cheap tasting without any other real flavor, if you now what i mean. Service was friendly, authentic decor, but way, way over-lit with glaring, cold white lights, I felt like i was in an ER the whole time. Meh.

Great food! Just what we were looking for! The waiter was helpful and made some good recommendations.

The good news, we beat the Christmas Day rush. The bad...the entire staff took their lunch break just after we were seated. Never in my life (and my spouse owns a restaurant) have I seen an ENTIRE STAFF break for lunch at the same time. The server gave us a bowl of fried wontons and a (filthy) pot of tea and said "we're taking lunch and will be back in 20 minutes." We were dumbfounded and in hindsight should've left but we felt so lucky to cop 5 seats on the busiest day in Chinatown. The fried dumplings (pan fried right? NO! Deep fried) were waaaaay too salty. The salt and pepper pork was okay. In my experience, it was sliced too thin and my first piece was 85% fat. The egg foo young ordered by my friend was tasty but the sauce was not good. The pea shoots were good but not great. Someone else got sesame chicken and the chicken was moist and tender. Basically a forgettable meal with unforgettably bad service. Also the restaurant was filthy in every corner.

a decent Chinese Cantonese spot. the service is okay and the price has gone up due to inflations but the food is solid.

Came by around 7 on a Thursday evening - we had reservations but the restaurant was ~half empty. The slightly-subterranean dining room was on the smaller side and had the specific type of cleanliness (or lack thereof) that seem to characterise most aging Chinese restaurants. We ordered quite a bit for the 7 of us - beef with string beans, honey walnut shrimp, (half) Peking duck, mapo tofu, flounder with garlic sauce, crispy fried chicken with garlic sauce, stir-fried snow peas, and Peking sauce pork chop (all pictured). Some highlights - both good and bad: We were actually first served a pot of some herbal chicken soup on the house, which was certainly not bad, although a little bland and quite salty. The beef with string beans - the beef was surprisingly tender and juicy with a nice sweet sauce, but the string beans were just way too undercooked. The Peking duck was OK - the skin was a little disappointing since it wasn't that crispy, but overall the meat had a nice flavour and paired well with the buns and the sauce. The crispy chicken was dry and tasteless, minus the skin, which (true to its name) was quite crispy (lol) and tasty. The flounder, which was perhaps my favourite dish of the evening, was juicy and flavourful and had a delicious garlicky sauce. The mapo tofu was a big shock, and unfortunately for my spice-loving palate, not in a good way - the sauce was basically soy sauce and the tofu was not very flavourful. (My friend tells me that's a Cantonese-style mapo tofu, which is good to know for the future) Anyway, all in all, I think the food was average - nothing was particularly bad, but nothing was particularly memorable either. I do see a lot of very solid reviews here, though, which makes me wonder if we just didn't order their best selection - so I think another visit may be in the cards!

The food is always solid with great serving sizes. I haven't had a bad dish yet and I've been here many times. The fried soft shell crab may be my favorite dish though. The seating and decor is pretty basic. It hasn't changed in decades, but in a good way. There's just a few more dollars and celeb pics up. There are a bunch of wait staff, so you're always getting your food and anything you need quickly. The only downfalls are you don't always get the crispy noodles while you wait for your food to come out. I don't get them about half the time. It's a shame too, because they are very yummy. The other thing is, which I see at many high traffic restaurants, is the tables can have a certain sticky residue. Also, bathrooms have that pee funk smell. These are the the things that hold back from a 5*

Pretty good classic Cantonese restaurant. Staff is fluent in English so don't be intimidated if you can't speak Chinese. They have a lot of variety and can also customize the dish to your preference. I couldn't find e-fu noodles on the menu but I was able to request it with crab meat and mushrooms. The noodles came with large pieces of crab meat and mushroom quarters. Unfortunately it was mediocre. I was disappointed since it is my favorite noodle. If you know of a restaurant that serves delicious e-fu noodles (or yi mein), let me know! I also ordered the seafood taro basket and the ginger scallion lobster. The taro basket was pretty good and always fun to eat with the crispy bowl. The shrimp was overcooked though. The lobster was delicious, very flavorful with enough wok-hei (according to my mom). Highly recommend!

We waited and they did not serve us. Ignored us when we walked in. Another party came in after us and they seated them. Horrible service. Disgusting restaurant. Filthy bathrooms.

Stopped by for a quick lunch on a Monday at 1p. Excellent lunch special prices and options. 5.75 for dishes over rice and 6.75 for entree, giant bowl of rice, and soup of the day. Usually not crowded and pretty easy to get a seat even as a lone diner. I got the chicken and bitter melon entree lunch special (you can get the same thing over rice but the extra buck is a lot more food) because the weather's been super wonky lately and bitter melon has excellent antioxidant properties, loads of vitamin c and boosts immunity. Service was quick and good.

The best Chinese lobster, dumplings , shrimp and scallops, green beans , ribs and noodles I've ever had ! Definitely the best place in NYC for Chinese food! Johnny is terrific ... knows exactly what you want before you even look at the menu ! Enjoy ! Its delicious!

Came here for CNY. We arrived at 5:00pm, very early dinner for us but we were told that if we come later the wait will be forever. 15 min later the line was snaking a block away! The food was great! We ordered 7 or 8 dishes and all of them were great! The bill for all the good food that fed 8 people came to just $160. We were in NY! The food was selection of seafood, meat and vegetables, it could easily ran over $250 in the Bay Area. Great recommendation from a friend who used to live in NY. Would visit this place again if we visit NY.

I like their weekdays lunch special, very good price. If u ordered to go, you still get soup & rice. I like they separate my rice from the food.