Venus Cafe

5 stars for my Sunday 5pm takeout experience:First time here, and I wanted take-out for a lazy Sunday.Glad I took the lady's suggestion of the lobster noodle with yifu noodles. Good portion of perfectly tender lobster. $24.99 is an excellent price!Steamed chicken is also perfectly tender and flavorful! A Half portion is $16 and plenty for 2-3 to split.

Given how there's absolutely no shortage of Chinese restaurants and eateries in the Richmond District, I've always found it curious how there haven't really been any HK cafes that have managed to stick around here. In years past, a few have sprouted up, but none of them managed to stick around for very long and I'm not really sure if D&A down the street really counts (they have some HK cafe types of offerings, but feel more like a Chinese restaurant). So, in that vein, it's awesome that Venus Cafe has survived not only since my first visit here when they first opened, but through the craziness of the pandemic as well!Like so many other HK cafes out there, like Venus Cafe has a semi-diner sort of feel to it and an extensive menu of dishes to pick from. However, in this case, the menu isn't just extensive - it is EXTENSIVE. In total, there are roughly 200 dishes to choose from covering a wide swath of options - appetizers, soups, salad, sandwiches, egg dishes, fried rice, rice plates, curry, noodle soups, chow mein, lo mein, porridge, stews, stir-fried plates, sizzling platters, a variety of baked dishes, and so much more. A number of dishes also appear in their list of all-day specials, which includes soup and coffee milk tea, but I'm not sure if the portion you get for those is smaller since you're getting other things with it.-- PORK CHOP CUTLET, FRIED EGG, CHEESE LO-MEIN...$14.95Not exactly your typical sort of HK Cafe dish, but this wasn't too shabby...partly because it reminded me of what I used to make in college! Although I didn't love the ramen (it felt more wet than cheesy), the pork chop was great (crispy and moist), and I loved the runny fried egg.-- BEEF BRISKET LO-MEIN...$14.95The portion wasn't as big as I would've hoped, but that's because I thought this was actually pretty good! There was a fair amount of beef, especially relative to the amount of noodles, and the broth was surprisingly flavorful (not very salty nor oily).-- HAINAN CHICKEN WITH RICE (and a HK Milk Tea)...$15.50Not sure how to rate this one - the first couple of times we got this, this was really good. The chicken was tender, delicious, and meaty and the rice was so flavorful. However, more recently, there seemed to be less chicken, which wasn't as meaty, and the rice was yellow/vibrant in color or taste.-- SHRIMP & RUNNY EGG GRAVY CHOW FUN...$14.50For or better worse, this was pretty standard. While the sauce needed a bit of a kick (some XO sauce would've been perfect), everything else about this was perfect fine - soft flat noodles, a nice sweetness to the shrimp, and a generous amount of egg gravy.-- BRAISED BEEF BRISKET RICE PLATE...$13.95Considering this is the second beef stew dish I've had here, you could say it's one of the things we like here. There's a good ratio of fatty/tendon pieces to chunks of meat and the gravy has a nice thickness/richness to it. -- BAKED PORKCHOP WITH CURRY SAUCE Served Over Rice...$14.95I'm a little conflicted on this one. The dish is smaller than others I've had at other places and the color of the curry sauce had a weird look/color to it. That said, the taste of the sauce was fine and, though I wish the top was cheesier, I liked the porkchop was very juicy.-- POPCORN CHICKEN...$8.95Somewhat surprisingly, this wasn't too shabby. The chicken itself was moist and I liked how this came with onions and peppers. I wish the batter had been a little crispier, though, and had a bit more seasoning/white pepper sprinkled on it.-- WONTON NOODLE SOUP...$11.95I used to see a lot of folks get this and I can see why...sort of. It's not the best I've had, but it's solid, especially on a cold night in the Richmond. The noodles had a nice bite, the wontons were plump, and the broth was decent, but the size of the bowl feels a little light compared to what you can get elsewhere.To be honest, if I had written this after my first couple of visits here, there's a chance this would've been four stars. However, whether it be due to them not being as good these days or having tried more things (or both), Venus Cafe feels a whole lot closer to decent than great. As much as I liked the beef stew, just about everything else I've had has been a little up and down. All in all, it's great to have a HK cafe to fall back on this side of the city, but I can't say I would go out of my way to come back again in the future when there are definitely better alternatives out there.

I came here on a friend's recommendation that Venus Cafe does really good baked dishes over fried rice. That's exactly what I came for, but unfortunately, it was a big disappointment. I ordered the fish fillet with white sauce over fried rice and added a fried egg on top. The only good part of the dish? The fried egg.I've had my fair share of Hong Kong-style baked dishes over spaghetti or fried rice, and this one completely missed the mark. The white sauce tasted like watered-down Campbell's cream soup with bits of corn, and the fried rice was hard, poorly made, and completely flavorless. I only ate the single fish fillet that came in the sauce and the egg--after that, I couldn't bring myself to finish the rest. If it weren't for the big jar of hot oil on the table, I don't think I would've even made it that far.The prices are fair for the area, and parking is metered but free after 6 PM. The vibes inside were nostalgic--classic aunties with attitude, which reminded me of those old-school Chinatown spots where the food is so good that service doesn't even matter. But here, the food didn't hold up its end.At least my dish came out piping hot, and I got some hot tea. I also liked the background TV playing Cantonese news, which added to the homey feel. If I ever come back, I'll definitely be skipping the baked dishes.

We were just in Hong Kong, so our cha chaan tang standards were pretty high but Venus Cafe still hit the spot.Service was fine, the two servers and the cashier were clearly overwhelmed, so it took a while to catch an eye and to place our order. We got a Portuguese baked chicken rice, a porkchop baked rice, and a seafood udon. The udon looked drab when it arrived but great flavors and we cleaned it all up. The baked rices actually took a while, which we counted as a plus point since many places don't bother baking/broiling them anymore. Good meat quality, though the sauces were sweeter than expected.HK-style milk teas were properly strong!

We were greeted and seated by a friendly waiter upon entering the restaurant. They have an extensive menu and specials written in Chinese on the walls. We decided to order two meal combos. Soup and choice of Hong Kong style tea or coffee is included with the entree for $14.50 each. We ordered the beef stew with rice and the pork chop, chicken steak with garlic sauce over rice, and two milk tea.The food came out within around 10 minutes, which we thought was pretty fast. The beef stew had a good amount of beef and daikons. The beef was tender as well and flavorful. The pork chop and chicken steak were tender and flavorful as well. We appreciate them trimming off the fat from the pork chop. However, the garlic sauce was kind of on the salty side. Also, the baby bok choy that came with the entree were not washed well. The milk tea had the right amount of condensed milk in them, which they weren't too sweet.We will be back to try their other entrees. They offered excellent customer service and they gave generous portions and prices are fairly reasonable.

Venus Cafe is pretty solid for a Hong Kong-style spot. The food hits the mark, especially the crispy baked pork chop rice and the milk tea. Service is kinda iffy sometimes, and you might be waiting longer than you'd like. The vibe is straight up busy, which can be cool but also hella loud. Overall, it's a decent pick for a chill meal, but they could step it up in a few areas.

Came with the family on Christmas Day for a quick lunch. Your typical fast casual HK style cafe, service was very curt and can come off as rude but that's normal for cafes like this. But the food was definitely what redeemed the review. Milk tea was just the right amount of sweetness and beef brisket noodle soup had tons of flavor. Just wished they included more meat in the soup.

Food disgusting , no service, no heart to cooked ,quantity is less and quality is low

We stumbled in here on Clement while wandering around because it was filled with older Asian people and that's usually a pretty good sign. Service was fine, not particularly efficient but not terrible either. They seated us right away but it got pretty busy as we were dining there.The menu is very extensive, there are a million things on there and even more written in Chinese on the wall. While it is a cha chaan teng, I didn't end up ordering the usual western influenced dishes but went with some classics. The food was lightly seasoned and that was perfect for me - some people might find it needs more.Dried scallop & egg white fried rice: this is my favorite kind of fried rice and shockingly hard to find in the city. This was a really good version - it had some wokhei and every grain was separated and not too hard. I was really glad I ordered this.Garlic sauteed water spinach: perfectly cooked and not too greasy.Salt pepper pork ribs: nicely seasoned and crispy! The vegetables with it were weirdly cold but the pork was served hot. Felt like they just added the vegetables at the end and they were precooked.This place delivers on Cantonese food that is decent and has enough dishes that you can come back frequently not get bored. Prices are on the higher side but the quality is decent.

Came in on a Sunday night and as Yelp confirms they were supposed to have a lot of DTE/down to earth Chinese fare that is not the typical - upscale trued to sell type, sort of reminiscent of ABC on Noriega street supposedly so I decided I should give it a try. I digress - I really came to Venus Care because I got a frenzy for Hong Kong style baked spaghetti or fried rice casserole dishes and this place was supposed to have it. Anyhow - the moment I walked in at 6:50pm, the restaurant was not bad at all, no waiting- though the door being opened all the way meant the place got a little chilly (luckily I had my goose down on). I sat down after telling the waitress - one person. Its definitely a homely feel as the kitchen lady came out with a warm cup of tea and before you know it, a recent table came in and - you could tell this place is a Cantonese hold out lol as I overheard a party of six people had a karen and kevin arguing loudly over groceries experience and the guy got upset and told the lady he aint helping to pick her up or up her groceries anymore, (I'm quoting it in Cantonese: "hah chee high ngum ngo mm lun ngau ley jip ley lah"-woww lol the guy literally said next time he aint ever gonna *#%^ pick her up again "). Not to mention - the place had Cantonese TVB dramas on, thats cool, it feels the right way thats for sure. Anyhow moving to the food, overall for post-pandemic prices - the prices are - Actually Reasonable. Not much more than any other typical Chinese diner place but them having baked Portuguese chicken over fried rice, Seafood over spaghetti,Pork Cutlet, is a definitive plus. They also have wonton noodles, fried noodles/chow mein, and even - one of my childhood faves- Macaroni soup . You would be surprised how not many Chinese restaurants offer that anymore, I mean they could but, it would be rare as mainlanders wouldn't know what it is nor understand why it's good in its concept of simplicity and mornings. Anyhow moving on-So I Came For One Purpose - To see if they really served a DGFF helping of Hong Kong baked spaghetti. I ordered the fried fish balls - not bad, but the waitress saw me looking at which baked spaghetti casserole to order recommended No. 1 - the Big Brother. Food came out in decent timing, avg time of ~15 min as baked fried rice and spaghetti dishes typically take a bit longer to prepare and make than stir fry and soup dishes. The steel dish had a good helping of spaghetti and sort of a half-and-half concept where half the spaghetti got baked in a tomato based sauce while the other half is a creamy-and-cheese baked sauce with two medium sized pork chop fried cutlets and also a fried chicken wing. All heavy cream based, rich in flavor, and the cheese mixed in definitely added a helping of savory flavor to it - they definitely did a baked spaghetti the right way. Not skimming people on the sauce, the metal dish was served in a plastic bowl to ensure you dont get burned touching it, and thats cool because it also can be used if you want to tear apart the meat from the noodles (I prefer mines together). Now for the fried fish balls. They came out crisp, hot, and served with a sweet hoisin-like sauce you would use for rice noodle rolls, it definitely helped warm the palette. For a meal that cost me $25, altogether it was worth it. Yeah, I would try them again but next time - I like to see how their fried noodles taste or how their sizzling iron platter udon is like. Altogether, I give it a solid 4.