Li Wah Restaurant

06/28/08

removing the doubt

by ld007469 at Citysearch

I'm not sure where the negative reviews are coming from. The food is A+, the service is a solid B+, seating is almost always immediate. I've never had a problem with the manager and she almost always goes out of her way to say hello to customers, the wait staff speak very decent english. The price isnt any different than any other good Chinese food in Cleveland. My ONLY reserve is the neighborhood but I've never experienced anything negative. If you haven't been, give it a try. I go every time I travel to Cleveland and not yet have I had a bad experience.

• Pros: food, service, environment, easy access location close to downtown.
• Cons: neighborhood

05/23/07

Visitor will be back

by fishpaw332 at Citysearch

Living in the starved for DIM SUM city of Phoenix (we only have 2 places that serve DIM SUM); when I heard that Cleveland serves DIM SUM basically anytime - I had to try...Bo Loong I did like okay (already did review)...But Li Wah's I went to 3 times for DIM SUM, maybe I just knew what to order...The sticky rice & sesame treats, I wish I could market and take on the plane back to Phoenix...Sticky rice is supposed to have Chinese Sausage, which the Li Wah's does...Sesame treats are supposed to be light and eaten in 2 to 3 bites which Li Wah's does...If business takes me back to Cleveland, I know I will be back to Li Wah's...

• Pros: Great Dim Sum, Service, Parking
• Cons: Pay for Chopsticks?

02/05/07

Know what you are getting into....

by strongplj at Citysearch

The service is good and the food is relatively good - there are times the food are not fresh (depend on who and what is ordered). Our party has 12 people and a third of them are kids, the manager keeps pushing us to order the "family dinner for 10" citing there will be more seafood, etc. Because of cost and the composition of the dishes, we want to order two "2 family dinners for 6." I told the manager that someone in the party does not care for seafood (I don't think I should have to tell her the illness - it's gout for whatever it worth). It's very hard to convey the no answer to the manager. Plus, there are so many fruit flies and they are everywhere. I wonder if the proper agencies have ever checked the place out.

On a different note, the servers are friendly, prompt and polite. To one who knows the real taste of Chinese food, there are many places in town that are better. However, I have to let you know that I am not Cantonese and therefore my judgment might be biased.

• Pros: Good service
• Cons: cleanness

01/10/06

not even decent

by sabrina200 at Citysearch

Compared to the other chinese restaurants around cleveland, li wah has the worst services because of the boss, Donna. she is cheap, greedy and rude to its employees and customers. She will push plates of food up to your face and won't take no for an answer, so we had to buy the food. When the waitresses are offering their opinions, the boss rushes up and tells her that she isn't telling us about the fish and whispers "that's more expensive". Just plain money hungry. Also, the food isn't that great. The middle of my dumpling is cold, the buns smells like it was overnight, the egg tarts have hard edges, and the potstickes dripped in oil. And we went on a Saturday morning, suppose to be the best day for dim sum. I recommend anywhere but Li Wah for people eating at downtown, run down cleveland china town.

• Pros: decent,polite servers
• Cons: overnight food, irritable boss, Donna, bad atmosphere

07/26/05

Very good food, nice restaurant

by 11thplague at Citysearch

The worst part of this restaurant is the part of town it is in. Other than that, the food was great, the prices reasonable, and large portions. The staff seemed a bit rushed which kept the mood from being relaxing, but they were very attentive to our needs. I was taken here with a Chinese co-worker, and the other Chinese people here all frequent this restaurant which should tell you something. We're right around the corner from Bo Loong which others rate higher, but they don't go there for some reason.

• Pros: Very good food, Large Portions, Reasonable prices
• Cons: Bad part of town

11/28/04

Overrated

by baythoben at Citysearch

Coming from a place with a lot of good Chinese Restaurants (Honolulu) ... The food (dim sum har gau, siu mai) was average at best ... Bo Loong has much better dim sum and the best dim sum in town is at C & Y's ... we went on a week day .. service was friendly but uninspired ...

• Pros: decor

08/18/03

Walking into this temple of Chinese cuisine is like being dropped into a foreign country.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
Just five minutes from downtown, Asia Plaza is a mini Chinatown under one roof, with Li Wah is its base. The sprawling dining room can seat up to 400, but space always seems to be at a premium. Businessmen in full power mode sit with college students, Asian families, and anyone else with an adventurous palate. Surrounding the restaurant are Asian grocers, Hong Kong video parlors, and vendors promising to cure all manner of ills with acupuncture, herbs or legal advice.

The Food
The daily fare runs from lo mein to tripe and ginger duck eggs, or unidentifiable but delicious selections from the dim sum cart. Compared to other area Chinese restaurants, the dumplings seem plumper, the pork buns more savory--even the chicken feet are worth a nibble. Now, if we could only figure out what that big-headed fish on sale at the grocer's next door might be.

08/03/03

Sunday Noon Dimsum

by lilpuu at Citysearch

Best day is Sunday afternoon for Dim Sum fare. Widest variety of "authentic" Hong Kong style comfort food; thus, not what you'd expect from the usual "American-Chinese" restaurant. To local Asians -- the food is outstanding; for those seeking Americanized Chinese food -- be adventurous and open minded. You may love it or you may not. Bottom line? Weekend afternoon fare is great, all other times, the menu items are basically average.

• Pros: Authenticity, Dim Sum, Value
• Cons: Atmosphere

01/11/03

Great food

by falchen at Citysearch

I was very impressed with the quility and amount of food for the price. the Dim sum is by far the best deal and well worth going there for it. the service is a bit lacking, unless you can speak manderin.

11/08/02

Different, INSANE...

by cazort at Citysearch

This place is different; the menu is not a typical Chinese restaurant menu, and it will take the unsuspecting American off guard. Expect to experience some tastes and textures that you may have never seen before.

I've eaten here many times, and it's been consistently good. It's not GREAT, it's good...but what it is is different and new and exciting and interesting. You'll get some things you don't like but it's worth it for the fabulous new things you'd never have tried otherwise. If you get sick of the same old stuff and you like adventure, this is the place to go.

• Pros: New and Different, More Authentic, Large Selection
• Cons: Some food too odd, Intimidating Menu