I feel like I've heard lots of people compare this place to OIC Bowl up the street and so my first instinct is to immediately do the same. I think the food is about the same quality but the seating at this place is absolutely superior. It was really nice out front.
I had a slightly disappointing lunch today. A $5 serving of edamame on the happy hour menu started off my lunch. It was a happy hour portion for sure - but I think happy hour pricing for my serving would have been about $3. I would have been happy with $4. But $5? For a small serving... Luckily a $3.25 Kirin arrived with it and I felt like that was a good deal.
I have mixed feeling on my tofu claypot lunch. The hot & sour soup was good but it was a tiny bowl. The salad was also fresh and good with a light soy (maybe?) dressing. Steamed rice was served on the side of my claypot. YOu have a choice between white, fried, and brown. I mixed in my white rice and looked around for thai chilis. I had asked for extra hot. There were only two in there and I ended up eating them both. I added hot sauce but don't think it's fair to order a dish extra spicy, and end up having to add some hot sauce because its still kind of bland.
I brought a large to-go container and had lots left over to put in it. As I was doing this, I noticed two people behind the counter eating. Please tell employees not to eat in view of customers while they're working. One was the busser who isn't necessarily handling food and so it doesn't matter. The other was a cook who never left my sight. He ate and then continued to handle food.I don't know, I just think that's unprofessional and restaurant employees should avoid doing this in front of customers.
My server was great though. Khaled was attentive and smiled a lot and checked back on me a couple of times to make sure everything was okay.
Is this place a retaurant or a lounge? Â Because they are certainly having a hard time being both. Â Their take on modern asian cuisine is average at best, and the abiance is a cross between an airport VIP lounge and a Starbucks. Â
Its nice to enjoy a drink here after work, though its easy to have a server run into you or getting in the way of those who are getting to their tables as there is not enough space to properly accomidate a true lounge setting. Â On the other hand if you come to eat, the dinner service isn't impressive and the best tables outside are hard to come by w/o a significant wait. Â The bartenders hold it down well, they are courteous and skilled.
Happy hour menu is loaded and complete with great choices, yet its a joke if you plan to actually eat to fill an appetite. Â So I stick w/ the ample drinks on the happy hour menu and plan on ordering food from the dinner menu.
A cozy place to enjoy Walnut Creek and authentic Cantonese dim sum. Beautiful french doors and outdoor seating. Â Good place to hang out with family and friends. Â It challenges the pre-conceived notions of how a successful Chinese restaurant should feel like. Â Perhaps that is why the owner calls it Modern China.
Review Source:It's always Happy Hour here except on Fri-Sat 6-9 and Holidays. They have a great outdoor space right in front. My favorite happy hour food is the salt & pepper seabass! The services is just okay. But on a nice day in WC you can probably find me here after work because you can't beat the price and the patio locale. Do not go if you are looking for traditional Chinese Food - it's not called MODERN China Café for nothing.
Review Source:The only reason this place gets two stars is because of the food. I came with my Persian friend for happy hour, we sat outside and couldn't help but notice that we looked out of place and apparently the waitresses did also. We waited literally fifteen minutes while as many as four waitresses walked past us without an acknowledgment. I saw other tables come and get help immediately. Eventually an older man came out and asked if we'd been helped and took our order. FINALLY our waitress came over and said "sorry about that." She then asked if we needed anything right now. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE service and I will not be returning. It is a shame because the food was delicious once it arrived.
Review Source:I met a group of my girlfriends here recently. We had heard about the great happy hour selection on food and drink...and they certainly had a lot to choose from. Â Unfortunately a good majority of the food that came out was less than delicious. Â When looking at the menu you immediately think you are getting a great value, but then when you try the food you are just grateful a particular dish only cost you $3-4. Â The service could use some work too! Â Pretty slow and inattentive. Â I hope they can work out some of these issues because its a great location with a cool concept.
Review Source:Modern China Cafe offers happy hour at certain times.
drink: red wine (4)
eats:
won ton soup(3)
-3 won tons in thick skins, meat mostly tasteles pork
-broth non-msg, clear broth, veggies semi-raw
salt & pepper sea bass(5)
-heavily bread fish deep fried
-no fish taste, sea bass probably wetbacks
takeouts:
-happy hour entrees no bargain, smaller prices= smaller portions
-chinese food without the msg and "chinatown" Â service.
-choice of sitting in hot eatery inside or hot patio outside.
-alcohol pricing slightly cheaper.
-didn't see any comrades nor capitalist roaders dining here, just tourists. (modern?)
The only reason I didn't give this place 1 star is because of their awesome drinks (their Lemon Louche - think lemon drop - was delectable and the shock top was fruity and refreshing (no I didn't drink  both myself!).  Unfortunately, the maitre'd had us waiting for an hour and then lost our reservation.  So we left.  Never to return again.  Ever.
Review Source:Went here for happy hour about 2 months ago, I tried to talk my party into somewhere else, but they wouldn't listen. We sat at the bar tried their ribs, dim sum, and something else. It was all horrible, worst food I have ever had. The ribs tasted like they were microwaved and the dim sum just didn't taste right, and the people I was with aren't picky and they asked me to go somewhere else and apologized. I can only assume people are drinking before they eat and that's why they think it is good combined with the cheap prices, cos everything is good when your drunk or they have some nights that everything is fresh and great and other nights where everything is old and bad.
Review Source:Went here after hearing about the great Happy Hour (all day everyday except Friday/ Saturday nights). Got 13 small plates of food and three cocktails for $72 and we were stuffed. Everything was pretty good and came out really fast (I imagine they're just continuously cranking out the dishes in the back). The only thing I found overpriced was the Honey Walnut Prawns ($8 for a small plate- better off anywhere else). Skip the shrimp and avocado rolls- it's mostly jicama. Don't miss the soups, banana pastry puffs, Shrimp and Chive dumplings or the basil chicken. Was very busy when we went on Sunday at 7PM but the place is large enough with both inside, outside and bar seating that there was no wait. Nice, attentive waiter who was constantly refilling my water as well (I eat most of my food with chili sauce)
Review Source:Worst service ever.
Yes, below I agree - good food, Great happy hour (including drinks and food), but these servers really need to learn the menu. I had the same experience as Amanda K.
I am allergic to Cilantro ( I know, weird, right? ) and went there with a gift certificate given to me for my birthday. I had specifically asked our server if there was cilantro in an item off their dim-sum menu and she swore up and down that, while it would be odd for cilantro to be in that item, that "No way" was there any. Well, upon my first bite - CILANTRO! Yes, are they trying to kill us? I know I will not die from eating this herb, but seriously?!? How do you NOT know what's in the food you are serving? Have you never seen "Restaurant: Impossible" ?
This place basically hires a good looking staff to get more patrons. Girls in short shorts, lots of make-up, hair perfectly styled... and no guys to look at?! Really?! Â ;)
I won't be going back.
Cons:
If you are looking for good food, skip this place! the worst chinese food that I have ever tried in my whole life!
The broccoli beef is nasty, the orange chicken is disgusting and the eggplant dish that I has was super oily and nasty.
Come here for drinks and eat elsewhere...
Pros:
Atmosphere is alive and good looking. Outside sitting is nice, location is good. I would come back for the lively feel. But I will make sure I eat elsewhere!
We go here at least twice a month. Â Big fans of the dim sum assortment and the mongolian beef. Â Sean is a fantastic waiter and we always look forward to seeing him. Â Friday and Saturday nights are very busy, mostly due to the club crowd. Â This is a great place for people watching and cocktails too.
Review Source:The food isn't terrible, but I would never call it great. Â The drinks are fairly reasonably priced, and the food is fairly inexpensive, for Walnut Creek dining after 6:00. Â I have never once ordered from the full menu, always opting for dim sum. Â If you are looking for fine dining, this is not it. Â If you are looking to go eat a light meal with some friends, trying lots of things and drinking, this is not a bad place to check out. Â I would, however, recommend eating outside, the fire pits are fun.
Review Source:I was really really surprised by this place. I looked it up as a meeting spot for my girlfriends and I. I was coming from San Jose and the other girls were coming from Sacramento so we thought we'd pick a midpoint to compromise. I was thinking that Modern China Cafe was going to be in a middle-of-no-where location and I thought it'd be a dead restaurant with zero liveliness. My girlfriends similarly thought we'd be entering a town like Vacaville.
To all of our surprises, this place was cracking and busy. It was a good thing we made table reservations that Friday night because we wouldn't have been able to get seats otherwise. We unfortunately got seated inside which was noisier. The outside area had a fire going and was lounge-like and modern. The crowd was pretty diverse but mostly Caucasians.
We ordered from their happy hour menu: orange sunrise and beach street cocktail, sweet potato fries, pork potstickers, chicken wings, orange chicken and wontons.
At night they play loud and good music. This place makes you want to dance. Don't come here if you're looking for a quiet place to talk to a date.
The waitresses were really helpful and friendly. They asked the people at the bar to move away from the table to make room for our table reservation. I felt bad for the people currently using the table but it was nice of the waitress to prioritize us.
The rest of the surrounding neighborhood is bustling with young 25-35 year olds. It's pretty lively on the weekend and the neighborhood feels more upscale than the downtown that I am used to in San Jose.
This is an awesome place to come later at night and sit outside. They have firepit tables, happy hour like all the damn time.. and just an overall awesome vibe. Some of there servers are hit or miss on personality which is really 1 of my 2 gripes. My 2nd one would be food consistency. My girl and I have gone about 3x so far and each time has been a little worse than the first. Granted it may taste better after a few drinks... I think it should taste good sober too. I've tried about 10 different entres so far and i've liked about two of them. But seriously trial and error I guess... A good change up for me because nothing else good is open late.
Review Source:Much can I say about a place that has the longest happy hour menu of all time. When you make so much food at such a cheap price it must come at a sacrifice and that sacrifice is in flavor and in taste however the drinks are really nice can't argue with that but I'm glass can only hold so much ice please hold back on the ice nothing that I don't like ice but I do like to have a more liquid then ice in my drink
Review Source:I love that this place is open late and it has outside seating! My boyfriend and I came in about 9:30 on a weekday. The runner (I think) greeted us and we sat in the cocktail area. Once we sat another guy brought us two waters. He literally just tossed them on the table and left.. 0_o no eye contact no saying hi no nothing. Eye contact means a lot when you work in a restaurant. It's shows you acknowledge the person and you're being polite! Â
Server drops off your beer and just walks away...
Vs.
server drops off your beer makes eye contact then smiles!
....which one sounds better? It's a small different but it's huge!
Moving on.. After sitting at our table for 15-20 minutes I had to ask for someone to help us. I understand that people get busy especially at night when your cutting servers and there are less people on the floor. But I saw so many people wondering  around and walking by us! I was even making eye contact with the bartender after 10 min(asked him for help).  If you see a guest sitting at a table looking around wouldn't it click maybe they need help?? Even if its not your table ask them what they need and get it for them.
Finally our server came to the table.. She didn't apologize for the wait or even really greet us.. Just asked us if we wanted anything to drink. Def made us feel unwelcome like we were being a burden to her. Food came out quickly which was a relief because we were starving! Our server ended up being attentive which was one of the good things about this visit.
Maybe my next visit will be different :-(
Oh dear. Â If we were Yelping on ambiance, outside on a warm night, then it's 5 stars all the way. Â If we were Yelping on lunch or happy hour dim sum we'd maybe stretch to 4 stars. Â But based on dinner tonight, I'd be taking a close look at who's cooking this stuff before it's too late.
First the good news. Â Sitting outside on a warm night with a lively, NOISY crowd was fun. Â Our waitress was GREAT. Â The duck mu shu was a nice size portion to fill the 4 pancakes, and quite tasty. Â The lemon tini was very tasty and heavy on the alcohol.
The bad news. Â We got the eggplant with shrimp and scallops, and the chicken curry clay pot. Â The eggplant was just about cooked enough but with a tough skin. Â Sauce was quite tasty. Â The 5 small shrimp and 7 tiny pieces of probably previously frozen scallop did not make this a $17 entree, way overpriced. Â The 'clay pot' was nothing like we've seen before when we've ordered clay pot. Â My g/f kept saying the 'sauce' reminded her of something, until we finally figured out it looked like, and tasted exactly like, bad gloppy turkey gravy you'd buy for Thanksgiving. Â The curry was nearly non existent, the chicken was dry and completely without any taste whatsoever. Â Probably the worst entree we've had in years.
Fix the food and this place could be here for years. Â Let the quality go downhill and keep hiking the prices and the only people eating here will be the ones coming for the drinks and the ambiance.
Best Happy Hour in town!
The food and drinks are always great here. Â (I love the Szechwan Basil Chicken)
I love the ample amount of tv's to watch games on.
The atmosphere is great with an inside bar, nice restaurant, and great outdoor patio that can be used even when it's cold out with their heaters.
Only con is service can be slow.
The best thing about Modern China Cafe is the ambiance and decor. Â Their outdoor patio [see photo] and indoor loose pillow seating is very cool. Â There is often a refreshing breeze wafting through the restaurant, as they leave the door open on warm spring/summer nights.
That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of their Asian fusion dishes. Â My seared ahi tuna salad with onion ponzu dressing was good, but nothing to write home about. Â I enjoyed the asymmetrical, slanted bowl that the salad came in more than the actual salad (lol). Â Their utensils were quite interesting too (See the fork in one of my photos!) Â
So, all in all, Modern China Cafe is more a cool spot to hang out at than a place to find five star Asian cuisine.
Went on Super Bowl playoffs. Good appetizers. Wish I'd taken more photos.
Green onion pancakes
Sweet potato fries (20-25)
Curry chicken and shrimp dumplings (4) (best thing we ate)
Fried asparagus (8)
Shrimp and chive dumplings (4)
Crispy coconut prawns (3)
Beef chow fun
Portions weren't too big - if you have a group you'll pay a lot to fill up. Curry chicken and shrimp dumplings were great!
Lots of seating and TVs. Takes credit cards.
3 stars for surly, stupid waitstaff and small food portions. Admittedly, it was happy hour.
This spot is awesome on the weekdays! I was walking around Walnut Creek at night with the man-friend since I had to stay out there for 5 nights. We were looking for late night happy hour and we found it!
When I was looking at Yelp Happy Hour nearby lists, I scrolled right past this place because the name "Modern China Cafe" didn't really appeal to me. We were going to hit up this lounge down the street but this place drew us in. Very modern indeed. There were tables outside with fire in the middle of them to keep you warm. I'm sure there's a technical term for these awesome table but I don't know what it is, so table with fire in the middle will have to do. haha They awesome music was what did it for us. Like hey -- this place looks crackin! Let's go! Decent amount of people there on a Monday night around 10 p.m., cheap drinks and SUPER CHEAP FOOD with lots of variety! This place isn't the type of Happy Place with only 2 drink selection and 3 appetizers on the menu. SMH... The menu was packed with lots of great things ranging from $3 - $8.
We ordered a majority of the menu (All of the $3.75 items -- which consisted of 9 things I believe and $5 for a plate of mussels) -- very tasty, strong drinks as well. I left here happy and satisfied!!!
I wanted to give this place 5 stars because it was closed to all the things that I patronized a lot and they have happy hour all day on Thursdays. But the service was very awful. The waitress tried to explain that the guy inside seated us and that was why we had poor service. What? We all know that wasn't acceptable. While we were there we saw a group of friends that was waiting for their menus. When the menu's came out they all stood up and left because they were waiting for a while.
Most of the food in the happy hour menu was $5.00 a plate. But they were very greasy and not really tasty. The only thing that stood out for me was the five spiced beef making my rating up to two stars and the outside patio seating was very nice. The rest were cooked in a lot of grease, small portion, and they all tasted the same. The dishes were cooked in soy sauce, cornstarch, grease, and then some chili.
I truly believe that you can serve better food than what you're currently serving. When I saw the reviews and heard about the happy hour I was thrilled to come here. But when I saw the food, I said really? They're serving this kind of food and people really loving it in WC? The school cafeteria would have better food than this place.
If you want mediocre food, Â & prices plus bad service to boot with a nice ambiance (outside seating only), then come here.
Have only been here once but it was a pretty awesome experience. Really nice outdoor area/patio and nice decor on the inside. I met my friends here for some drinks and a quick bite before we headed out in downtown walnut creek.
We got drinks around, I had a sierra nevada nothing special because I was driving but they have happy hour on food and I believe drinks like all night. I ordered two dishes, a walnut prawn and a lemon chicken. The walnut prawns were absolutely delicious and the lemon chicken was good too, pretty standard.
The only thing I didn't really enjoy about this place was the service. I got to the restaurant late because I had work and from the time I got there it took about 20 minutes for a server to come to our table. He was also not very friendly at all. Food came out decently fast though, probably because there were a lot of people hanging around for drinks.
Defintely a good place for happy hour food and drink before a night out on the town. I will be back here again without a doubt, maybe even tomorrow night.
I wanted to like this place, I really did, but I have to say I've definitely experienced better in the line of asian tapas and fruity cocktails.
First off, we were seated outside at a table...with no chairs. Thankfully, the busboy took care of it, which I appreciated but I was still a little weirded out. Once again, the busboy was on top of it with the water and the menus and stuff but the waitress took kinda forever to get to us...probably since we were seated in a random little table in the back...
My friend and I figured we had one shot to order so we fired off a couple happy hour dishes and two drinks. Now, let me say this for MCC, the prices on the dim sum and drinks were good, and that was cool. And I get that you're busy during the weekend happy hour, but the fact that it took like 10 minutes to get our drinks and completely forgetting the second food item we ordered until my friend actually got up and said something is a little underwhelming.
I don't believe in holding grudges, but step up your game next time, please.
I came in yesterday with a group of 7 people, no reservations around 7pm. The place was packed so i was worried we weren't going to get a table. The man at the front (asian...maybe the manager or host) was sweet enough to give us the table at the glass box. I also asked about happy hour and he said it wasn't happy hour time until 9pm but he would give us happy hour prices for food not drinks. Score!!
Food was okay (3.5 stars) but the ambiance is nice (4 stars)! Drinks were strong and tasty (4 stars) but a bit pricey $10-16. The pitcher was only $14 though. Food was cheap too.
Some of the waiters were not up to par. We had to call for our waiter at least 7 different times and other waiters were ignoring us when we asked for help and they for sure saw us asking for help. That was annoying. One waiter did keep filling up our waters which was nice.
Besides some of waiters everything else was fantastic.
This place was amazing and the food was wonderful! Â We had reservations for a party of 12 and our table was ready upon arrival. Â The appetizers and entrees were all really good! Â The drinks even better! Â Ask about their specialty drinks not listed on the menu. Â The decor and ambiance was great and all around we had a fabulous time. Â
Only downfall is the restrooms and the long lines. Â They really should have planned better for that than just having 1 stall for a restaurant full of women. Â You know how we get once we break the seal. Â Giggle. Â
Service was a bit slow but we didn't mind as we were having a great time. Â I'd definitely go back and make this a regular spot to grab dinner and drinks.
Cool outdoor fire pits, stiff drinks, and open late. Â These are the only positives I can think of when I think of Modern China Cafe...
The service was slow, the waitress knocked my glasses off my face as she hurried to put the food we ordered on the table, the dim sum tasted worse than frozen Costco dim sum, and the fried rice was horrible.
If your looking for a place open late in WC to grab a drink and hang out by a fire pit check this place out, but avoid the food...
Been going to Modern China for over a year now so figured it was time to write a review. A year ago, I would have given Modern China a 4 star review, but recently they have upped their game. They are receiving a top rating from me because the food is good, the vibe is fun, and the prices are right. Nice combination.
Most of my visits have been late night weekdays around 9pm for drinks and food. Â The place itself is very modern inside and out. Â They have a large outdoor patio with heaters and fire pits to stay warm during the winter months. Â During the summer months this outdoor area is awesome to enjoy the great weather at night in Walnut Creek. Â
Modern China has a great Happy Hour menu with lots of delicious options. Â And price....the prices are cheap. Â For two people we had a total of 4 drinks and enough food to make happy for $35. Â One of my favorites is the Kung Pao Tofu with brown rice! Recently they made this happy hour menu available all the time not just late night. Â You can go in the middle of the day and get the same happy hour prices.
For late night visits, the crowd is a good looking mid 20s to early 40's and the place gets fairly crowded even on weekday evenings. Â Definitely worth checking this place out.
The first time I came here I got a Pisco Sour from this kid I think his name was Kyle. These douchers were buying my girlfriend and I Kamikaze shots so I was kinda not into this place.
HOWEVERRRR.... Everytime I come here it keeps getting better. The bartenders are cool dudes, and I've since tried a lot of the food. They make my drinks really strong and I usually need them to top it off with more juice but WHO COMPLAINS about strong drinks??? LOL.
This place is a must to stop into on my bar crawls in WC. There's always at least one seat at the bar and whoever I'm with can stand for all I care...
Can't wait until it's summer so we can sit back on the patio!!
We came to Modern China on a Sunday for lunch. Â I immediately liked the place after checking the menu and seeing that they offer $8.75 lunch specials 7 days a week! Â Also, apparently on Sunday it is "Happy Hour" all day with special prices on drinks. Â
Modern China is an Asian fusion restaurant with Chinese roots but from what I could see it is quite the cultural melange! Â I ordered the Rib Eye lunch special which was served on a bed of asparagus and shitake mushrooms. Â My wife had the Sea bass which was served on a bed of par-boiled choi-som . Â The lunch specials come with your choice of white or brown rice, soup du jour, and a small salad. Â I also ordered Sierra Ale on tap. Â Modern China has a full bar.
My rib-eye was cooked just as ordered (medium) and was tender and deliciously marinated. Â It was thin cut, but the portion was just right for me and for the price. Â The sea bass was fresh, flaky and very delicious. Â The brown rice was cooked to just the right firmness, the hot & sour soup was fresh and tasty, and the salad was served with a sweet and salty Asian dressing. Â They do not use MSG.
After tax and tip our bill came out to about $27 for two lunch specials and a beer, what a deal! Â The servers were a bit unconventional (nose rings and tats) but very friendly and helpful. Â
We will be back!
Since my recent return to the East Bay I've been checking out the local scene again, so it's tough to miss Modern China. Â I've been there a handful of times now, and clearly I really like it.
What stands out?
The food
The scene
The patio
The music
So I'll tell you, the first time I went there was for lunch. Â I was shopping and thought i'd drop in. Â I ordered something eggplant, scallop something. Â Not good, I thought I'd never go back.
I dropped in a few days later with friends and ordered off the happy hour menu. Â We sat on the patio, a little noisy, but the music was good and it was lively, and a few of the dishes were great, so I was warming up to this place.
Since then I've dropped in a few more times, because if a want a quick bite in a non-boring atmosphere this works.
I haven't tried the whole menu, but like any restaurant there will be dishes you really like, and others that you won't.
All together though I think this place has a good mix of what a lot of people want in a dining experience: Â good food, a fun crowd, good drinks and a beautiful place to relax with friends...
You've got to try it!
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