Baccali Cafe & Rotisserie
Categories: Chinese, Asian Fusion [Edit]
Neighborhood: Alhambra245 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801 (626) 293-3300
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 8:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat 8:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot, Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner, Late Night, Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
97 Reviews for Baccali Cafe & Rotisserie
This place is okay. Food is typical asian cafe fare at a good price. Quality has gone down over the years but still one of the better cafes in the area. Their malaysian chicken is good and their steaks are marginal...remember, it's asian flavor. Like some other reviewer said, decent food-decent price.
Went with my BFFL for a very late lunch ( 3PM) so it was not crowded at all. There were maybe 3 other couples and 2 older ladies. We ordered the chinese chicken salad to split. Delicous dressing. She ordered the singapore noodles with seafood, tasty but lacking in flavor... a little soy sauce did the trick =) I ordered the grilled porkchop with mushroom sauce, muy tasty. The waiter had recc either pepper or mushroom sauce. I ordered lemon iced tea which was so refreshing and to top it off, free refills!! Definitely will go back to this place!
This is one of those HK style cafes.
Pros:
open late
good prices
big portions
convenient
decent food
Cons:
bad service
long wait
food comes out sporadically with bad timing
I had their so-called famous chicken and it was okay I thought. Next time I'm getting their pork chop bc that was reaaaallly good. Juicy, big, and cheeeeap yayyyyy
The timing of the food coming out was so bad. the first person to get her food and the last person who got his food had a thirty minute gap.
Took forever to get our check. I'd come back again because the food was good and the prices were good and it's opened late. BUT the service needs more improvement.
The food here is good. They open late, so that's always a plus (think it's till 1 am). I don't like how they don't give you free soup with your entry, so I took off some points. I love their stir fry ramen. That's good, but it's like 8 bucks for instant noodles! Their soups are always too salty for me. I've tried it numerous times and I always have to send it back. They just add more water for me, but it's still salty. I never learn my lesson though. I've been going to Garden across the street recently because there's always less of a wait and they give out free soup with your entries (don't think they do it here).
I think this is the only time i've ever been to an Asian cafe and thought damn.... i want to come back again when i'm sober. The food is pretty good, portions are big and the price is fair. What really set this place apart is the chic decor (compared to other chinese cafes) and the countless plasmas they have all over the joint showing the NBA playoffs. Not only do they have plasmas, they're Panasonic plasmas not no ghetto ass random china brand. I will be back!
Pretty damn good in my opinion. If one of these were to spring up in the South Bay, I'd be a very happy camper. Surprisingly though, the rotisserie chicken is probably their worst thing they sell here. They sell beer too, but it doesn't seem to be a huge lure for the folks that frequent this place. Their spicy chicken wings and Yeung Chow fried are both awesome. They have many other great dishes too. Of course the service sucks most of the time and the kitchen probably has a roach or two. Thats why you tip accordingly. Highly recommended though.
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We walked in for lunch and this place was pretty crowded - lunch special. They have several tvs surrounding this place for sports fans like I. The Yankee VS. Red Sox game was on so I was "in-the-zone". We ordered the Malaysian Chicken; great stuff, reminded me of Indian food - Prime Rib w Five Spices; meh, it was all right, we ordered it med well & it came out pretty bloody still - Yang Chow Fried Rice; very good plenty of mini pork pieces.
Food service was super fast (think cafeteria quick) & table service was very friendly. I liked the atmosphere and the food was pretty damn good. I will be back again to try the crispy noodles, mmm.
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Decent food at decent prices (although they've gone up!)... not much to say except that it's another chinese cafe. I used to have higher regard for this place but now:
beware the steel wool...
seriously, i think it was 4 occassions that we found steel wool in the fried noodles before we stopped going there (yea, 4...i wouldn't let go). apparently they scrub the woks so well that they tend to have pieces of the steel wool left over while cooking. i had to convince myself that the prices and edible food weren't worth the possibility of having my stomach fouled up (or shredded- is that possible?)...
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It's one of the best Hong Kong cafe in this area. The price is reasonable, big portion, and great service.
3.2.08: After a long trip in the air it was time to eat. Hungry, my friend and I came here for a quick meal. Its been awhile since I had their chicken. Rotisserie Chicken! Man they are freaking delicious.
I miss Asian Food. Being in New York for Four days I ate nothing but sandwiches and fast food. Not my cup of tea. I just had to savor every bite and every taste. YUM! I was freaking happy. Order either their cajun chicken or just the plain baccali chicken they are both good.
The greatest part about this place is its fast and there are TVs everywhere. Great spot for some good Hong Kong style food and to watch some sports. O and this place like any other cafe its cheap. Good portions and its good.
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I got the filet mignon cubes here because it looked pretty good. It was HORRIBLE...not filet at all. In fact, I'm not even sure what portion of beef I was eating. It had a weird spongy texture...kind of like chopped and formed beef cubes. The other dishes I ordered was just average. The only good thing is that the food comes out really fast. It takes forever to flag down a waiter and sometime they forget what you requested so you have to ask another one. I'm never going to come back here again. There's an abundant amount of better cafes in this area.
This place is overrated. This place used to be really good back in the days and I used to come here alot for lunches, dinner, etc. Now, i prefer to goto Garden or Cafe Spot. The food is not great, but just ok. However, this place is still the place to go if there is a big sporting event on TV. They got a really big projector there. I guess we'll settle for mediocre food if the Lakers are in the Finals
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Yeah this place is a pretty typical cafe'. The food was what you would expect, the menu is pretty daunting with 67,000 choices and the size of a small phone book.
I had the Baccali Chicken, I figured that a place shouldn't screw up a dish named after themselves. It was pretty good over all, juicy and a good about of food. Sam Adams on tap was a good touch too. The service kind of sucked and didn't seem keen on a cracker chillin there, but other wise it is a good place for some late night grub.
This is definitely one of my top 3 HK Cafe style restaurants (#1 being Tasty Garden). Considering that Chinese restauranteurs aren't decor aficionados, the interior is open and chic. The food is incredibly delicious and very well-priced. There is a great variety of foods from Chinese, Malaysian, to "Western" food with a HK twist. Try their lemon iced tea. It's usually very crowded during lunch, especially on the weekends. Be ready to deal with the parking, since their lot is rather small, try parking on nearby side street.
1 pork chop baked rice = 1 midnite snack + 2 lunches
not bad for $8.
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This place has always been a favorite. The portions and price is always exceptional. They open till 1, so if I felt hungry then I know at least there is a place to grub at with a few nightowls =P
Came here for dinner on the way back from Mammoth. They give you a lot of food and it's cheap! If I was hungry I would've gotten the Triple Crown....three types of meat for only $13!
Instead I had the Indo fried rice which comes with some grilled beef on a stick. It was OK. Also tried the salmon with pasta and veggies. They put the seaweed sesame topping which was good but the fish itself was a little on the dry side. I like their coffee & tea...yes they actually mix the two.
It does get pretty crowded...we had to find parking on the street. Service is alright. They did refill my water a few times without me having to ask for it.
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mmmmmMMmmmmMMM GOOOD~~~ :D
this place is yummy! :D
but service is not that great
my favorite dish is that curry tone :)
definitely going back there again
Amazingly, despite my close home proximity to this place, I just ate here for the first time.
We went here because my family loves baked pork chop-- tomato sauce, veggies, rice, and baked pork chop served in a metal tin.
We had three orders of baked pork chop, bolognese pasta, the Chinese curry special dish, and the salmon with vegetable dish. Plus drinks of iced tea and milk tea with condensed milk on the side.
Compared with Garden, I am not used to the tomato paste sauce they use at Baccalis. It's almost like pesto sauce served from Ragu and just dumped onto the dish. I moreso favor Garden Cafe's tomato paste sauce that seems to be a combination of half salty/sweet. My curry dish was good because, oddly, the rice noodles were semi-fried and that added the right amount of crispness to it. They used the same cooking technique with the salmon. The bolognese (s/p) was just okay. Tasted like The Old Spaghetti House's spaghetti with meatballs dish.
I like the atmosphere of the place. Love that the kitchen is right in plain view so you can basically watch the staff ready your food. And of course, there's the plus for having the flat screen TVs in every direction so you get a good view no matter where you sit.
One of the better HK Style American eats I have had. Seems like the Bay Area is lacking in this area while Monterey Park/Alhambra have much more better ones. Usually pretty bustling in here too. This is one of my favorites for this type of food for sure.....
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As much as I don't really prefer to go to this place, I find myself here every so often. I've tried a lot of the items on the menu in the many times I've been here and the only dish I love (and makes my visit here more bearable) is their coconut chicken over rice. That dish is a bit on the sweet side, which definitely stimulates my palate. I also can't go wrong with their lemon iced tea here. Otherwise, it's just okay. Parking can be a hassle sometimes in their small parking lot, so definitely try to park on the street if you can find parking.
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The food is great. Whenever my bff and I can think of no where else to eat we ALWAYS somehow ALWAYS make our way back to baccali and of course always order the same thing. The service is usually really quick and friendly. I always order their grilled chicken with orange ice tea. Their Chinese Sesame Salad is highly recommended. I can never get sick of this place. The only downside is the parking. There's usually no parking spots, BUT you can always make one and park right in the front. =)
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The decor is quite nice, but the food quality leaves much to be desired. Stay away from the filet mignon. As another reviewer mentioned, the quality and freshness of the meat might be a bit questionable. Last time I was here I ordered the filet mignon/Chilean sea bass combination. The beef didn't taste fresh. I ended up getting sick afterwards, which doesn't happen often. I would stick with the more simple chicken or noodle dishes. The service actually isn't as bad as some of the other reviewers have mentioned. Prices are reasonable.
interesting place known as HK style....my bro suggested this place....it was pretty good! was ordered skewers w/ indo fried rice, curry chicken, beef chow fun and black bean spare ribs over rice! everything was pretty good....they have italian and american food like pizza, steaks n stuff and you can order rice, spaghetti or fries as the side...next time
This is large cafe with average food. The price is good and the portions are large but there are so many better and intimate alternatives to this restuarant. If you want good cafe food, avoid this.
Pretty good food, I like the porridge and a few other dishes...get the lemon iced tea, but I think there is too much western food that is not very good and they try to mix too many styles of food and don't do many of them well. I know it is a Hong Kong style cafe so it is supposed to mix it up but there are plenty of better places in the area like Sports, JJ cafe (not JR), arcadia garden, and sunday bistro to name a few.
I can see how Baccali is rated low on Yelp. The white folks who come here say:
"Like, oh my gawd! This isn't authentic Chinese food... Panda Express is so much better!"
"Why is there, like, spaghetti in my entree? As if!"
"There's, like, too many thugs in here. This place is so totally ghetto!!"
Yes, Baccali is not your traditional Chinese restaurant, but it never tries to be. Located in the heart of San Gabriel Valley (the 626), the restaurant a younger Asian American demographic.
Do you know why there's pasta with your kung pao chicken? A prodominant number of us enjoyed dishes from home made with many different ethnic flares. Mac and cheese was commonly combined with sweet and sour pork. Although it may seem strange to many outsiders, we wouldn't have it any other way.
So Baccali appeases to those who have an appetite for those who yearn for those types of "homestyle" dishes. When I was introduced to this non-traditional restaurant, I had the Triple Crown which consists of a hearty portion of grilled chicken, pork chop and steak generously smothered in a black pepper sauce. Steamed vegetables and pasta complemented this stroke-inducing entree. Definitely a step up from the Chef Boyardee and thit nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork) combination I used to make at home.
Is Baccali for everyone? No. But it caters to those looking to break the typical Asian restaurant mold. Though you won't find fortune cookies here, expect to experience something unique and, like, pretty darn good.
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This used to be my favorite cafe. Now the prices are higher and the food is so-so. Last time, the Malaysian Chicken wasn't fully cooked. Still, the Malaysian Chicken is pretty good. You have to be aggressive about getting a server's attention because they all move at warp speed. The place gets busy, so be prepared to wait if you go at prime time.
Great Food!
Their specialty is rosstiere foods, but with a taste of HK STyle Cafe. Mostly everything on their menu is pretty good as I've been there everytime I visit LA, Service is ok, as tehre are good and bad waiters. Some of the waiters are smart but some are not very smart/remember your orders/needs. But overall a good place to eat. The Plasma/LCD channels can be changed but you must ask the HEAD waiter at the bar or older waiters, the younger guys think its a crime to change the channel.
Drinks are good, but they aren't the specialty.
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The food tasted very well and same with the drinks. It was fast but the waiters/waitresses don't really pay that much attention to when you want to order so you have to get their attention! :) The price is very affordable but the service isn't that great compared to major chain restaurants. But if you compare it to some Chinese cafes then this place is pretty good since it has great food and the drinks are also well made. :)
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I love this place! Great meals, huge portions, low prices. Like most people have said, the roasted chicken is quite tasty...and it is available in several different flavors/styles. I like to get the spaghetti and meat sauce on the side (it's cafe style - don't expect fine Italian).
Another great dish is the Fillet Mignon dinner, served with steamed vegetables, potatoes, etc. It is surprisingly good, especially for the crazy low price ($12-15, if I recall). You will likely have a hard time finishing it, and you will be back.
This place is super busy, and the parking can be crazy - so go during off-peak hours if possible. Oh yeah...and get the iced tea...it's awesome!!!
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I LOVE their rotisserie chicken, very juicy and flavorful! I usually get the baked seafood with pasta, always good. Good cafe and good nice decorations and atmosphere.
This is the default cafe that I go to now! I love their beef curry, it's one of the best ones I've had in the Cafe's in the SGV (and I've been to almost all!)
Portions are big, so plan on sharing family style if you don't eat much. Price is very reasonable and depending on what you order, is almost always less than $15pp.
Pitchers of beer for $9 is a great compliment to the greasy but good multi-ethnic Asian foods.
My only complaint is the lack of parking spots!! They need more...the restaurant next door (Da Kitchen) has security guards that keeps you from parking in their spots, so be careful!
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This place is categorized under "Chinese", but it is far from Chinese. It's stuck between a weird mix of American, Chinese, and other stuff. On the menu, you have selecitons of pasta, steak, ramen, and stuff that is average. The good part is that for the price, you get a decent meal-- but it's nothing (food nor environment) that is truly memorable.
Where else can you get chicken steak + short ribs + steak + pasta + vegetables for under 14 bucks!??!?!?!?
I don't know how you Chinese people do it? How many illegals do you have back there cooking your shit? How can this possibly be this cheap? HOW!?!!?!?!?!!!??!
Baccali isn't any culinary experience....but it sure is freaking good bang for the buck.
Oh and definitely some eye candy here on Saturday night...girl in the black/grey skirt dress...yeh you...you're super hot.
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I used to come here quite a bit, but after a while i just got sick of it for numerous reasons.
The good thing about it is that they give you good portions, food is pretty good especially the steaks and curry, spagetti was good (not sure about it anymore).
The bad thing is that its crowded, extra pricey for most of the stuff, service is terrible, pretty dirty utensil, sometimes it attracts a bad crowd, seen a few fights, scraps, arguments there.
I really do not get why this place is always so crowded. The food is your typical chinese cafe style, trying to be American but far from it. And the service sucks. Maybe because it's fancier than the other cafe's across the street? And everytime I have been here my cup or utensils are filthy.
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Service is fast and they have many round tables to accomadate larger parties. I usually order the same dish "Baked pork chop rice." It is in my opinion one of the best places to eat this in the 626. What's great is that they also serve BEER here! Pork chop rice and beer on a lazy sunday night? Excellent! 3.5 stars.
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I come here only for thier rotisserie chicken. You can't ask for much...under $6 you get half a chicken (or was it a quarter, anyways it is a big portion), a side, and your choice of rice or spaghetti. The chicken is moist and flavorful and quite odd to find such good chicken at Hong Kong Style Cafes.
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I've only been here once, so keep this in mind. I've heard really great things about this place, but my sole experience here was a dour one.
Food: I ordered the crab curry. The crab was undercooked and was done in the Chinese style. I really wasn't expecting this, especially since curry doesn't really go well (in my opinion) with Chinese style crab. It was puketastic. Also, the crab pieces were microscopic so I had a hard time picking out the meat and ended up an hour later with a plate full of shells and a rumbly stomach.
Decor: The interior goes well with the Chinese fusion theme.
Service: Slooooow. This place is super popular so be prepared for a wait.
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