Mee Sum Cafe
Chinese restaurant · Chinatown
26 Pell St, New York, NY 10013
Highlights
Old-school Chinatown cafe serving classic Cantonese comfort food.
Old-school Chinatown cafe serving classic Cantonese comfort food.
"This Chinatown tea shop dates to the 1960s. It’s an old-school spot for inexpensive dim sum, servings of over-rice chicken, duck, or pork; and steaming bowls of congee. Diners can either sit at a counter or a few tables in the back of the parlor or simply grab a leaf-wrapped bundle of sticky rice, known as joong, to go. Don’t miss the wonton soup." - Eater Staff
"Taking Chinatown back to the 1950s, Mee Sum is a place not to be missed for romantics and history buffs. This antique lunch counter offers great dim sum of the coffee-shop sort, neither delicate nor expensive, eaten mainly by old-timers who might linger over a plate or two. Dim sum, mostly pulled from a steam cabinet, falls into three categories: dumplings, baked buns, and congee." - Eater Staff
"On Pell Street, House of Joy tends to get all the attention. But right next door to that huge Cantonese restaurant, there’s a tiny spot that’s also worthwhile. It’s called Mee Sum Cafe, and, as evidenced by its old-timey cash registers and ancient urns of steaming water, it’s been around for over half a century. The menu consists of dim sum, soup, congee, and other breakfast and lunch items, and nothing costs more than $12. Get some salted chicken over rice (around $6), or try some Toisan-style joong with pork, egg yolk, and dried shrimp." - Hannah Albertine, Bryan Kim, Hillary Reinsberg, Matt Tervooren, Carina Finn Koeppicus
"Mee Sum Cafe will remind you what downtown Manhattan was like before there was a Zara every few blocks. Open for over 50 years, this minuscule Chinatown restaurant has a fluorescent-lit dining room and a straightforward menu of breakfast and lunch items like congee, dim sum, and various combos served over rice. Grab a stool in front of the old-timey cash registers at the front of the narrow space and order a little box of rice topped with salted chicken, Chinese sausage, and a fried egg. It’ll cost you about $6, and the person behind the counter will relay your order to the kitchen through a PA system that sounds just as old as the restaurant itself. photo credit: Bryan Kim" - Bryan Kim
"Founded in 1976, Mee Sum is one of the few old Chinese coffee shops still standing in Chinatown. It’s a narrow den where old men sit and drink tea and enjoy a few plates of dim sum. The wonton soup is traditional and particularly fortifying, with a stout salty broth, shrimp-stuffed dumplings, green vegetables, and packaged ramen noodles — utterly delightful." - Robert Sietsema
