Charlie Hong Kong

Food was disappointing. Peanut butter flavored noodles were a throw away. Good portions though and cheap prices. Get what you pay for.

This place has great food. Although, I think it’s a little more pricey for what you get. Customer service is not the greatest either, for take-​out specifically.

Pretty cheap, clean, fast comfort foodz! My Favz r chicken Phở & green curry rice noodles w spicy ginger beef, which the later is hands down the best! Although I make almost every mealI work next door so it’s a frequent delight for this papa.

I’m sad that I didn’t find Charlie’s until late in my senior year. Definitely a restaurant that I would have frequented more if I had known about it. Yes, vegans go nuts for this place but they also have a great selection of meats (mostly chicken). Hit this place up if you want a fast, clean, tasty meal!

My family has eaten here enough over many years to report: usually good, never great and occasionally terrible.
Last night was one of those not so good nights. A third of our to go order was not good. The spicy peppers, tofu and peanuts in the Kung Pao Tofu were so burnt the dish smelled and tasted awful. I would have asked for a new order if it hadn’t been take out and we discovered they had blown this dish once we were home. We composted most of it.
So the cycle continues, after a few months we’ll be back for the reasonably priced decent quality organic food knowing full well that this restaurant is very inconsistent and we may be disappointed. If there were better options near the Westside we would not be back.

Had a super delicious mushroom sandwich the other day. The peanut butter cookies were just as tasty. Will return soon!

So delicious! The pad Thai and tiger prawn rice bowl are my favs. The peanut sauce is to die for!

Healthy, cooked to order, huge portions, fresh, local and the woman at the counter was extremely helpful. Can’t wait to go back again!

This is my first time here and I got the Chaing Mai dish n it’s pretty good
I wanted something not fast food and drove by and figured I would give it a shot
I’ll try most foods and I’m pleased with the dish
A lil on the bland side so I added sum Sriracha & a dash of hoisin and this dish is good to go
Check It out next time ur in Santa Cruz
Audrey the young lady at the register is awesome and very nice
I’ll be back

My friends got tired of me complaining how hangry I was and took me here before I passed out
CHK has been around for a while — its a great local spot in the Santa Cruz area that serves SE Asian food with locally grown organic produce and a Vegan focused menu for a cheap price.
Grabbed a hoisin pork Vietnamese sandwich to go. .. loved every bite of it. I did have to ask for jalepenos since I was already warned they forgot jalepenos the last time she was here. Fast, friendly service.
Great spot to spot to hit up for a quickie if you can find parking!

I have to give HCK only a three. This is the second time that I have tried the food here. The first time I had red curry which I thought was fair and I had some simulation of a Vietnamese spring roll.
The second time, I had the pad Thai with hoisin pork. The flavor of the Pad Thai was very vinegary and I found the pork to be flavorful yet dry. I just moved here from Las Vegas and maybe I’ve been spoiled to be in one of the Culinary meccas of the United States or maybe Santa Cruz has not experienced fantastically flavorful food. Something that rocks your pallet! And twice it has not done that for me. Yes fresh ingredients are great, but I’m looking to rocked with an overload of flavor with fresh ingredients. Unfortunately it fell short both times!
I gave it a second chance not sure that I will be a return customer.

Was driving around the area and decided to stop here since it looked like they had constant business. If you’re coming here at night, make sure to bring a coat! Although they have exterior heaters, there really is no «inside dining» experience since it is a very open set-​up.
I ordered Spicy Dan’s Peanut Special with added pork and decided to order it without green onions. The flavors mixed together we’re pretty good! However, I’m not too crazy about pure peanut sauce and decided to add the sauce on the table. Once I mixed in their table sauce it was quite the delicious mix! Good pricing and a filling meal.
My mother ordered their Curry chicken rice bowl with brown rice. As a Mexican woman who loves sauce, she asked for additional green curry since she was not satisfied with the amount they gave her. They happily did this for her. She seemed to enjoy the food as well with the additional sauce and was impressed with the customer service.
We also ordered their hot tea. They have jasmine and oolong tea to the side and as a tea-​lover I must say that both were very good! Will definitely stop by again if I’m in the mood for Asian Fusion!

I finally tried Charlie Hong Kong, and I have to say that it exceeded my high expectations! I ordered the Spicy Dan’s Peanut Delight bowl with Teriyaki Chicken topping. It was delicious! The vegetables were fresh and perfectly cooked, the sauce was flavorful and spicy as promised, and the chicken was perfect (I am not usually a teriyaki fan and I still loved it). The service was also so great! I told the woman at the counter that it was my first time there and she explained how to order (2 steps), recommend the teriyaki, gave me two sauces for free, and genuinely seemed to care that I enjoy my first Charlie Hong Kong meal. I would highly recommend this quick and casual to-​go noodle house to anyone who likes excellent quality Asian-​inspired food and friendly service.

When I need something fast and healthy! Charlie HK is my to go place.
My only complaint is sometimes the parking lot got too busy and the line is too long.

Today I decided to have lunch here after not bring here in a while. There’s one thing I forgot that really bugs me … Flies, I hate flies, but Charlie Hong Kong’s seems to attract them.
The food is good, the flies are not. If your going here to eat bring a flu swatter. You’ll need it.
But then again, it was a cheap and last lunch date

This is a classic santa cruz restaurant and it’s one of your best options for late night dining.
The dishes both veg and meat are well conceived and prepared. I’d describe it as california asian as opposed to traditional asian style but it’s still tasty and there’s a focus on vegan/​veg items.
The service ranges from indifferent to excellent, but there’s never a problem getting your food. It’s a order and pick up food at the counter, no table service kind of place, so if you’re in a group on the weekend delegate someone to go grab a spot as that’s the best way to guarantee good seating.
It’s very popular so expect lines at times especially weekend evenings. There is a parking lot available but it can fill up especially on weekends when there are events nearby. The drinks are a high point especially the house made mint lemonade.
Overall it’s a great noodle dish option for late (well 11 ish) night dining.
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One of my favorite restaurants ever. And I mean that but right now your staff is rude and offensive. The guy taking the orders is rude and annoyed he is doing what he is doing. Ps I know he’s been here for years… I dont care. The girl calling out the numbers thinks it’s funny to make fun of people’s orders: «gado gado with beef, lots of beef, extra beef» this happened twice as she laughed over the microphone. God forbid I ever order extra beef on my gado gado. How humiliating!
This is my only negative experience here. I hands down eat here at least once a week but this is obnoxious.

Back in the day when I would search on Unilocal for Asian food in Santa Cruz this place would consistently show up high in the search results with a high rating. Also many locals recommend this place.
If you’ve ever had any decent Asian food in your life then avoid this place. Both times I ate here the noodles were extremely bland and were no where even close to «authentic» like what other Unilocal reviews on this claim.
There are two redeeming factors as to why you’d want to eat here. The first is that the restaurant is very vegan friendly. The second is that the prices are pretty cheap.
In the recent years Betty’s Noodle House has started up with much better food that directly competes with this place. They even have vegan/​vegetarian options too. Honestly there’s not really much reason to come this place now.

Typical Santa Cruz. Yes, it’s (mostly) gluten-​free, non-​GMO, vegan based, organic, no MSG, certified Green business — did I miss anything? Oh, they also sell T-​shirts. The idea behind Charlie Hong Kong (the name’s as kosher as the Washington Redskins) is that it’s trying to serve food eaten at street stands in Southeast Asia. Fair enough. But why do I have to fork out an extra 75 cents for brown rice?
Parking is an absolute nightmare if you are lucky enough to find a spot; forget street parking on Soquel Ave. But let’s face it, any business downtown or near downtown Santa Cruz has the same issues. The outdoor patio the day we visited was packed with a single table that included an obnoxious nine month old and a toddler being pretty much ignored by their parents. Again, inattentive parents or poor parenting are not the fault of the owner and I’m sure I’m not the only one who despises loud, screaming children in a confined space at lunch time, right?
Take a look at photo #57, that’s what I ordered but what I got didn’t look anything like that. Admittedly, the Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl ($ 6.50 plus .75 for brown rice) was tasty, very gingery, but except for a sprinkle of green onions and maybe 3 carrot shreds and a bean sprout, it was just a huge bowl of brown rice. The squeeze bottles of house made sauce tasted like watered down hoisin sauce to me but I’ve heard the majority of customers rave about it, so that’s apparently just my taste (or lack of). My husband, on the other hand, ordered the Laughing Phoenix Red Curry ($ 6.50 plus .75 for brown rice) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, it was packed with veggies: yams, daikon, carrots, bean sprouts, simmered in a tomato-​coconut curry. Maybe I should have tried that instead.
I’m not a CHK hater and just so no one labels me as such, I had just come from my yoga class and was in a very good, peaceful mood. I was in the perfect state of mind, errr Zen, to handle the typical Santa Cruz vibe. OK, in all fairness, I promise to go back and give CHK another chance, the Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup description did sound good.

As far as I’m concerned this place is sort of an institution. The place opened up shortly after I moved away. It’s not part of the Santa Cruz I grew up with but it has become a sort of familiar comfort food.
The food is all fresh, the menu is pretty simple, you can order the type of noodle you want and then you can add toppings that you like. You order and pay at the window and wait for them to your number. While you wait grab a spot at either the counter inside or at one of the many covered picnic tables in the outdoor area. You will also find sauces around to add to your dish.
I like the Hoisin Pork on the Gado Gado and the Spicy Ginger Beef on the Charlie’s Chow Mein. The salad wrap is also delicious and a great value. The service can be a bit slow when it’s busy, best not to be in a huge rush.