Wo Hop: A NYC Institution

Review by: billyboy, Roadfood Team

Wo Hop is a NYC Institution:

Situated beneath a Chinatown sidewalk, Wo Hop has been a NYC institution since 1938.  I first heard about this place from Ian, my Chinatown guy, who said that I must eat here.  He’s the one who told me about Roadfood and he’s never steered me wrong.  I’ve been coming here for almost 10 years and it is on my list whenever family come to visit and anytime I give a food tour to friends from out of town.  Slightly bigger than a walk-in closet, there is almost always a line to get in, the staff are always buzzing about, and half of the walls are covered in mirrors while the other half are papered with faded headshots of performers that reads like a “Who’s Who of Who Is That?”

What to Eat at Wo Hop:

The menu is a roster of the classic Cantonese cuisine of my youth: egg foo young, lo mein, fried rice with pork, chicken or shrimp, sweet & pungent (sour) chicken, crispy egg rolls, and much more.  Meals begin with glasses of ice water and hot tea for the table, along with crispy fried wonton skins with sweet duck sauce and a sinus-clearing mustard.  Chinese “chips & salsa” as I call them.  Portions are big and there are usually leftovers which I’ve given to denizens of the city streets many times.

Wo Hop has received a great deal of press over the years and can count a significant amount of tourists among their customers, however, I wouldn’t call it a “tourist trap”.  Nothing has changed since I have been going there.  They don’t take reservations and are a cash-only operation.  The same businesslike waiters, same prices, same menu and the same taste of that sauce-laden Chinese food that just scratches that itch when the craving comes a-callin’.

*Updated by The Roadfood Team

What To Eat

Roast Pork Egg Foo Young

DISH
Roast Pork Wonton Soup

DISH
Hot & Sour Soup

DISH
Shrimp Fried Rice

DISH
Crispy Fried Wonton Skins

DISH
Shrimp with Chinese Vegetables

DISH
Moo Shu Chicken

DISH
Sweet & Pungent Chicken

DISH
Egg Rolls

DISH
Steamed Dumplings

DISH
Chicken Fried Rice

DISH
Beef Lo Mein

DISH

Wo Hop: A NYC Institution Recipes

Discuss

What do you think of Wo Hop: A NYC Institution?

4 Responses to “Wo Hop: A NYC Institution”

Mark Yoslow

November 26th, 2023

TERRIBLE food this visit. Been going here for 52 years and have never been so disappointed. Ordered beef with noodles with spicy curry sauce and specified mei fun noodles. The dish had almost no curry at all and lo Leon noodles. IT SUCKED! I will try one more time and if it’s this bad again, we’ll, if means another NY institution has died.

Reply

    Kaarina

    November 27th, 2023

    That is terrible to hear that you had a bad meal, but thank you for sharing your experience.

    Reply

Keith

January 6th, 2022

I’ve been going there since 1982. By far, the BEST Hot and Sour Soup I’ve had anywhere! Even their Fired Noodles with Duck Sauce and Mustard is addictive! So many things better than everywhere else!

There’s only one Wo Hop downstairs. A must, as often as you can! Wish they were here on Long Island! I’d be a constant regular.

Reply

    bill

    December 29th, 2023

    rhanks

    Reply

Nearby Restaurants

Nom Wah Tea Parlor

New York, NY

Treats Truck

New York, NY

Lombardi’s

New York, NY

Grandaisy Bakery

New York, NY

Rice to Riches

New York, NY

Doughnut Plant

New York, NY

Article’s & Guides Tagged Doughnut Plant

Connect with us #Roadfood