Inside: Café China

Asian restaurant offers friendly service and fair prices

By Kara Markley

Special to Metromix

Café China caters to its diners with a concise, well-rounded menu of Chinese and Thai entrees priced under $10. Though the décor is simple and relatively plain, the service is excellent, the food hits the spot when you're craving Chinese, and the helpings are very generous. Two large dining rooms ensure plenty of seating, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a sizeable afternoon lunch crowd enjoying the restaurant.

Food: Like most strip mall Asian restaurants, this one is Americanized and a bit heavy on the salt, but we enjoyed our experience here nonetheless. The Thai dishes were flavorful and seemed fairly healthy, and the option of choosing steamed rice instead of fried rice was greatly appreciated. If you're accustomed to some of the large, upscale Asian restaurants in downtown Columbus, you may not be impressed with Café China, but the prices are fair and it's a perfectly decent place to have lunch when you're in the area. We recommend the Pad Thai, vegetable and bean curd dishes, and anything from the "health food" subheading if you're trying to stay away from too much salt. Otherwise, all of the common options one often finds in a Chinese restaurant are available on the menu.

Libations: Enjoy free refills on soda, iced tea, hot tea or coffee. Juice and milk are also served.

Décor: This is a very simple place, and the décor is sadly lacking with the exception of a few pictures on the walls. That being said, the restaurant is very clean and tidy, and the tables are well-spaced with comfortable seating. However, don't expect this to be an elegant or visually appealing place to dine. Ample seating aside, it's designed to look more like a takeout business.

Crowd: Café China is busiest during weekday lunch hours, but with such a large dining area, seating should never be an issue. There is plenty of room and privacy for everyone to enjoy their meals here, but you can also order takeout.

Service: Our server was courteous, attentive and friendly. We didn't have to wait long for our meal or check, and anything we asked for was politely brought to our table in a timely manner. We give Café China an "A+" for service.

Bottom line: If you're in the mood for Chinese fare and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is an ideal place. If you're not already in the area, it probably isn't worth the drive.