The Grand Cafe

Love their egg rolls, their secret is peanut butter! But its real stuff and not a buffet quality Chinese. Best in town!

This place is the best! We get good food and great service! The staff knows our family now because we are regulars (and it doesn’t take that long till you become a regular). If you get the same thing when you go here, they will remember what you order. We used to order the same thing every time. They just walk over and confirm we aren’t doing anything different and get to it. The décor in here is the same as its been for a long time. I will say they have changed little in here. That’s fine by me. The dim lighting and old lantern lights are part of the atmosphere. Its something that is distinct to them.
*Take out tip*: If you bring a carafe in when you pick up your carry out order, they will fill it with their yummy tea! They also sell the tea bags there. However, I recommend that you get the loose leaf tea. It IS what they use. Also the hot tea is free when you eat in as well!
Heads up, they do not keep the website pricing updated. If you need a price just call and ask, they don’t mind. Take a look at the current specials! They have phenomenal weekly specials on most days M-​F!!!
Basically, ignore the bar area unless you want to eat alone and watch the news. I also feel it is important to mention that even though they have a bar set up they no longer serve alcoholic drinks.

So good! Not the most attractive inside but the most tasty affordable food for Chinese in town and priced like fast food but definitely worth every penny and then some! DELICIOUS!

I have been eating here since I was a little babe in my mom’s tummy. Considering this, I might be a little biased. They will always be my favorite!
Whenever I order from The Grand I ALWAYS make sure to get an order of egg rolls. Unlike other Chinese restaurants that give you 1 piddly looking roll, you get 2 huge egg rolls at The Grand! I have always loved this about them!
Another amazing trademark is their homemade sweet and sour sauce. It’s to die for!!!
Definitely worth checking out if you are in town.
The only thing I would change is the deco. And by change I would say «update» vs actually changing. The lamps, plants, pictures etc. are all the same as they were 30 years ago.

PC Tray in Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Only thing I order. Don’t know about anything else on the menu.

Probably the best South Indian cuisine in Illinois. The owner does a fantastic job with his demeanor and the food is just fantastic, fresh and authentic. The biryani is a don’t miss also. Have not had better since my honeymoon in Bangalore.

I will say as far as most Chinese places go, not that great. Being a sucker for wonton soup though I had to give grand café 4 stars. I mean damn, delicate puffs of pork floating in a light, translucent and for lack of a better word; silky wonton wrapper.
Most everything else is over salted or pretty substandard.

This is some god-​awful chinese food. Chinese food at the mall is probably better. Very low quality ingredients throughout every dish. I would give this place 1 star but the egg rolls are absolutely top notch and could compete with any places egg roll. If you plan on just having some egg rolls and tea but nothing else for lunch come here

Great food for a B/​N staple! Best egg rolls in central Illinois. Good memories of when I lived in Bloomington. Can’t go wrong at this place. Really good Chinese food.

I’ve lived in town for over half my life, but have only been to Grand Café a few times. I really need to correct that, because it’s almost certainly the best Chinese place in town.
You can tell the difference in quality composed to something like Great Wall almost immediately. The egg rolls are large and delicious. The food looks like real food, too, which is unexpected for Chinese in Bloomington/​Normal.
I ordered the Sichuan Chicken. It had a very tasty (though not really that spicy) brown sauce, along with some chicken that looked like it was actual chicken meat at one time. I’m not a fan of broccoli, but the carrots, celery, and green peppers were all great. And that’s one thing I noticed, which took me a while … The carrots, celery, and peppers all seemed fresh and tasted like carrots, celery, and peppers, respectively. Usually with Chinese food in town, they all pretty much taste like mush.
My wife got the Sesame Chicken; the fried chicken meat was a lot bigger and — again — real-​looking than we’re used to.
The only downside was a lack of kids’ menus. We did alright though doing what we normally do with Chinese food — ordering Sweet & Sour Chicken and letting them share. That worked really well — the chicken, as I mentioned, is a lot more substantial than is the norm around here. I personally wasn’t too impressed — it was kinda starchy for my taste — but they loved it, so it’s all good.
Anyway, yeah, we need to come here more often.

Such a dissapointment. I was lured in by the, «best in Bloomington» marketing sign on their façade. After eating there, I have no idea what they’re «best» at. But whatever they’re best at, like Wolverine, it ain’t very nice.
The food here was bland, Midwestern Chinese. Over-​fried, overly crunchy, and generally flavorless food dominates the menu. We sampled about 6 different dishes, and absolutely none of them stood out. While not bad food, it’s absolutely nothing you could get a slightly subpar chinese buffet. If you think of mongolian barbecue and fine dining, this place may be 3 stars. But such boastful claims as «best in Bloomington» certainly aren’t substantiated. There are at least five other places within 5 miles certainly worth the drive, often at a lower price point.

I have seen this restaurant been nominated for the best Chinese food in town. I can’t agree with that at all.
I will say, they have some of the best egg rolls in town. My wife craves this place just for them — the entrees — leave something to be desired. The only dish that they do well, IMHO, is Mongolian Beef — but that’s easy — some beef — onions — maybe some oyster sauce.. . hot and sour soup — OK — everything my kids and wife has gotten there has been so — so.
I will say that one of the kids refused to eat her entrée as it was sub par to some of the other faster take out Chinese joints.…
All I will say is — don’t buy into the hype that it’s been voted the best Chinese restaurant in B/​N — it’s not warranted. I’m giving it a 3 of 5 only based on the egg rolls.

I came with managed expectations given the mixed reviews on Unilocal.The egg rolls live up to the hype. I got the vegetarian kind and they were great. Spicy mustard is spicy and good. My veggie Szechuan entrée was fine. I askwd for spicy chili oil which helped. The ambience is classic old school, which I’m always a fan of. Wood paneling? I’m in. Service was friendly and helpful.

While the place looks a little dated inside, they do have good food options.
I wasn’t quite happy with my main course.
I had:
— Egg drop soup was good
— Egg Rolls are good like everyone says
— Seafood Plate, the ingredients were good but the sauce was not so good
The staff was very attentive and friendly.
I will try again and see if I just chose the wrong dish for me.

Grand Café may have been a fine establishment, back in the day. That is not the case in 2014. From the atmosphere, or lack thereof, to the unprofessional (diners do not need to know their server has been a surrogate mother, twice!) yet nice enough, staff to the way sub-​par food, the experience was a total waste of time, money and calories. For some reason they no longer have a bar. This place is a dive. There is absolutely not one reason to dine at this restaurant. Go to Mandarin Garden, or ANYWHERE else for dinner!

I’ve ordered delivery from The Grand Café several times now and I am never disappointed. Being from the NYC metropolitan area I tend to be a bit picky with Chinese food, but I was honestly shocked at how good the egg rolls are… might be the best egg rolls I’ve ever eaten.
Every time I’ve ordered the staff has been polite and deliveries are always quick to arrive. I love how generous they are with the portions, and gotta give extra marks for the friendly way their delivery people greet me at the door…
What more can I say: quality food, excellent service and decent prices — The Grand Café excels on all three levels…

Amazing egg rolls and the price of their lunch specials. This isn’t the best Chinese food in town but it’s also not the worst.
I enjoy the feel of traveling back in time when you sit in the restaurant to the décor to the plates you are served. Overall a good place for lunch for under $ 10 dollars with drink. Oh and free tea ;)

I’m sad about this place. The only positive thing I can say is that the egg rolls were crispy, the insides were bland. I love food, I cook good food and I appreciate good food and because of this I will not be returning to Grand Café.
The szechuan beef was bland, there was no bite, no flavor, no heat. I didn’t see garlic or any remnants of chiles.
The garlic chicken was bland, no flavor and there certainly wasn’t any «Bite» you would expect from garlic.
The crab rangoon had no crab or sweetness. It tastes like straight cream cheese. Overall a big disappointment. Even the house fried rice was just so-​so and semi-​flavorful.
If you give this «staple» more than 3 stars at most, I have to wonder what you eat on a regular basis that would lead you to believe this is of quality or considered quasi-​delicious?!

A Bloomington-​Normal staple!
I suggest ordering like 19 egg rolls. And maybe some crab rangoons. Or just one of everything…
If the servers aren’t super nice when you’re there then you must be at the wrong place!