A friend recommended this place and it didn't disappoint. Very tight space but the food was excellent. Make sure you bring cash.

Had a celebratory farewell dinner at Wo Hop Next Door with my European friends accompanied by their small dog. They had selected it, plus the downstairs original Wo Hop was recognized in '22 by James Beard Foundation as an "American Classic." (Because of our canine company, we needed street shed seating.) Keep in mind, during the last 50 or so years the range of Chinese cuisine available in the US has evolved, offering a wider selection of regional cuisines, more intense flavors including spicier, and broader ingredients. Wo Hop Next Door is what I'd classify as a reasonably priced, Cantonese restaurant with some specialties and a mid-Century Chinese American offering, without the Chop Suey, where the flavors are more muted than robust. We each ordered an entree, plus a Bok Choi side for the table. All came with different brown sauces. Recognizing there may be some difference between the original and Next Door's offering, the food was definitely a throwback to decades past, bringing to mind the Chinese food from my childhood when any Chinese food you could find was considered "exotic," so I can appreciate why James Beard categorized the original Wo Hop as a "classic." Diners may need to adjust their expectations because in comparing Wo Hop Next Door to Szechuan, Hunan, Anhui, Lanzhou, Xi'an or other contemporary restaurants they could be disappointed. That being said, it was a great meal together. To me, the best of the Wo Hop Next Door 3 mains was the Wor Shu Duck served on a normal plate vs plastic take out containers for everything else. The duck shined through its brown sauce. The Beef Young Sing Chow Fun had more vegetables and not as many noodles as I've had elsewhere with regular Beef Chow Fun. While I'm not a Lo Mein fan, my friend who ordered the beef one enjoyed it the best. Keeping the original Wo Hop in the basement on my bucket list, I'll eventually try it, where would opt for roast pork and maybe a fish or shrimp dish... definitely something more vibrant. Given exposure to what's available today, though, my (and my family's) tastebuds require more. That being said, there are so many options in Chinatown including new ones to explore and my other personal favorites that my return won't be any time soon, but I expect others may find Wo Hop Next Door more their cup of tea. FYI - Wo Hop Next Door is cash only.

Wo Hop has two locations, the original being the downstairs restaurant that serves American-style Chinese and Wo Hop Next Door which serves Cantonese style dishes. We tried going to the restaurant downstairs but they recommended us to go next door if we wanted more traditional Cantonese dishes. They have a menu in traditional Chinese and in English, with a few items missing in the English. You are able to get most(all?) of the dishes from downstairs, but we decided against that. Service was provided by traditional Chinese waiters who were knowledgeable and personable. We ordered some duck, beef with vegetables and a seafood tofu dish. All were excellent, but the duck was exceptionally crispy and the tofu had all the right flavors. Would definitely come back again!

Aside from being cash only this is a good location for Chinese. I'm hoping to find better in China town but currently this is the only option that I'd select so far. Fresh, flavorful, quantity is typically good even though my fried rice was half the size of the other plates that came out., If I were to try anything else, I'd probably not order the fried rice to try the pan fried noodles. Service has been great any time I go there.

Old school Chinese joint in the middle of NYC chinatown. How old school you ask? They're cash only. You get water and hot tea once seated. We came in around 5 pm and the place wasn't too busy. Our food came out in about 10 mins. I had the beef with Chinese mushrooms. I like how the beef is cut thick. It was pretty soft as well and not chewy at all. Mushrooms were nicely cooked while the brown sauce was pretty nondescript. It did it's job tying everything together but the flavor was pretty mellow. My wife had the roast pork with vegetables. So glad this dish wasn't sweet at all. Though I wish there were more meat than veggies. AMPLE amount of white rice with both dishes. For under $8 each, you will definitely leave full. Give this place a try if you're in the area.

Old school Cantonese in the heart of Chinatown. Go downstairs for American Chinese food, but if you want something more authentically Cantonese, "next door" is the choice. They also have the American Chinese menu served downstairs, so you can get the best of both worlds here. The servers were all very friendly and chatty. Food took quite a while to arrive but it's a Saturday night, and they were packed. Food's solid Cantonese fare. Are they the best in Chinatown? No, but with the long hours this is a great choice in the Chinatown area, with something for everyone.

Definitely better than Joe's Shanghai, did not wow me but I would return when in NYC again. I had the pork fried rice, egg rolls, and beef with Chinese vegetables. I liked the food, the only thing is that the beef was thick sliced and I prefer my beef sliced thin. It's just lazy to cut it so thick and made me question the origin of the meat. I left most of it uneaten.

Very, very good Cantonese food in New York's Chinatown. Our family was visiting New York for the Christmas holiday and wanted to make a pilgrimage down to Chinatown. There are two Wo Hops, one down some stairs in a basement, and the other just down the street at street level, which is the one we went to. As I understand it, they share common ownership, but have separate kitchens. I am a big fan of hot and sour soup, and order it virtually every time that it's available. It was an excellent version (I've had it all over the country). It had a nice sweetness, with just the right amount of bite. We ordered communal plates of General Tso's chicken, Szechuan shrimp, and Singapore fried rice noodles. The portions here are very large and, even with four of us, we took almost half of it with us. The General Tso's chicken was very tender, with a nice crispy crust. The Singapore rice noodles, one of my all-time favorites, was excellent. It is fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, green pepper, and shrimp, stir-fried in oil and given a liberal dusting of curry powder. The Szechuan shrimp was also very good, with strong, but not overpowering heat. The service was prompt and efficient. I should note that English seemed to be a second language for most of the wait staff, so it was helpful to use the menu to show what we wanted. I don't know if its the usual practice there, but they only took cash night the night we dined. I would certainly recommend this place, and will be sure to stop in again when I'm next in NYC.