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Reviews

• • 123go
    April 6, 2012
    5 reviews
    1 star: 1
    3 stars: 1
    4 stars: 1
  • I go vintage cafe so offen that they always ask me"Do you need the menu?" The gentleman nice, the boss lady nice, everyone work there very nice. I got a long relationship with vintage cafe for 12 months, But I want say a little bit advice and I want you to keep it real: I hope no smoking at all time the whole downstairs. Any way if you want to break my heart, I still have the two tables outside the window, but I don't really like people's stare who pass by.

• • The Book Exchange
    March 22, 2012
    1 reviews

  • Hi all, this is Steve, the owner of the Book Exchange at Vintage Cafe. I just wanted to let everyone know that the opening hours at the moment are from 3pm-closing time every day as the restaurant is short on staff at the moment. The new manager is trying her best to sort out the staff issues so let her know if there are any problems with the service. The cook is actually the same cook as the previous management, but should you have feedback on the food, feel free to talk with her (in Chinese) or post here (in English) and I can relay the message to her and try to improve things. To rick, the staff changed before the new management, not after. To zhenzhu, I apologize if you did get sick from the food. Let us know specifically what you ordered and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again. She really wants to make the cafe the best it can be so constructive criticism/advice is appreciated!

• • rick dikulous
    March 1, 2012
    2 reviews
    1 star: 1
    4 stars: 1
  • This place was ok by wen lin jie standards. Better food and service than French Cafe, for sure. It changed owners and the staff all left for greener pastures. Who can blame them? It went down hill in every realm. The staff saw the writing on the wall, you should too.

• • zhenzhu
    February 25, 2012
    1 reviews
    1 star: 1
  • Had a milkshake there that gave me three-day food poisoning. Had to go to the hospital and everything. Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM THE DAIRY!

• • shadowave
    August 16, 2011
    2 reviews
    3 stars: 1
    5 stars: 1
  • it's now my 3rd year going here.

    Fairly speaking, positive：

    - nice service, at least one guy understands english

    - salad and sandwiches are great
    - coffee, well, OK to the price

    - the atmosphere's really nice

    negative:
    - some times a bit slow (especially food)
    - "meiyou", that, i agree with Jiesi. Maybe they should improve there management in storage and logistic

    In conclusion, i still rank here five star. No doubt i cant be so "objective" to a quiet and lovely place that i really spent a lot of time at.

    BTW, does any one have any idea about "Beer Laos" ? Seemed its

    popular in local beer lovers.

    Cheers.

• • Jiesi
    May 29, 2011
    1 reviews
    3 stars: 1
  • I've been going here regularly for the past 9 months and love(d) it until one of the best fuwuyuan left recently. The falafel has always been great. Recently the baguettes they use for the sandwiches have been soft and tasty.

    However, having said that recently they've been having regular bouts of "mei you" for more dishes on the menu than I'd expect. The smoothies are now far too sweet (more than other places in KMG - I know, it's China, they seem to like everything being more sweet than back home, be it bread or drinks)

    Plus, I finally felt moved to complain that their service one evening this week was shocking even for Wenlinjie standards. Myself and a friend went in for food, I ordered a Vietnamese breakfast which is a "set" of a Spring Roll, juice, vietnamese coffee and a main dish of eggs etc. My friend ordered a falafel salad. First, they had "mei you" Spring Roll, but they refused to let me replace it with something else for the same price, or just get the rest of the breakfast a little cheaper, they completely refused to make the rest of it so I had to order something else. Second, the staff hadn't paid enough attention to the tea one of us had pointed to and gave us the wrong one.. Third, when I got my food, my friend didn't get her salad and was told it'd be along soon. My friend speaks good, almost fluent Chinese, by the way, so it wasn't so much of a communication problem

    Other people came in after us, ordered, got their (cooked) food a few minutes later, but still no salad for my friend. 30 minutes later, still no salad and when we asked, we were told it'd be another 15 mins. 45 mins after ordering (and after I'd finished my food) we got so irritated, we told them we'd waited far too long, I paid for what I'd eaten and left. How long does it take to cut, wash place some lettuce and tomato on a plate with a bit of falafel?

    I hope this was a one off and they get their service sorted out again, because it's normally a great, relaxed atmosphere!

• • noodlehead
    May 21, 2011
    7 reviews
    0 stars: 1
    2 stars: 1
    4 stars: 1
    5 stars: 2
  • Really like the falafels in this place! So tasty! The staff are friendly and attentive. nice place.

• • DragonCat
    February 5, 2011
    4 reviews
    2 stars: 2
    3 stars: 1
    5 stars: 1
  • Vintage Cafe, pretty nice place when it comes to Decorations and atmosphere, the service is slow and the tree times I went, kind of unprofessional- not sure if they really work there fulltime or only occasionally…… actually the first order of drinks took half an hour to arrive and any other order was slow and always missing something we’ve ordered…..the Panini I had was ok-isch but too much pesto flavors and a lack of salt and pepper. Anyway, I might try again, as I like the place as such.

• • debaser
    February 1, 2011
    8 reviews
    1 star: 1
    2 stars: 1
    3 stars: 1
    4 stars: 2
    5 stars: 3
  • first of all, service can be a bit slow, especially during busy periods, which is why i only give it 4/5 stars. however the food is worth the wait (and more). the salads and chicken burger are my favourites at the moment. the cookies are VERY nice, too (if a touch expensive) and the service is friendly, polite and helpful which is more than can be said for a number of other local choices. i'll be going back as often as possible. BTW, try the Stout Lodge (dark beer) if you haven't already.

• • Omgiri
    January 27, 2011
    13 reviews
    1 star: 1
    2 stars: 2
    3 stars: 1
    4 stars: 2
    5 stars: 6
  • The bad reviews are unfair. I've been plenty of times and always liked it. Good cake and coffee, great breakfast meals, and I love the Gratin Dauphinois.

    Can't understand why people moan so much about the service either, The waitresses always great me with a smile, and service isnt slow. I've ordered the Gratin numerous times and never waited more than 30 minutes for it. How is that slow for good food???
    

• • hedgepig
    January 26, 2011
    10 reviews
    0 stars: 1
    2 stars: 2
    3 stars: 1
    4 stars: 5
  • worthless in every way. i've given this place more chances than i can count, and they remain incompetent.

• • william15
    December 21, 2010
    7 reviews
    1 star: 1
    3 stars: 2
    4 stars: 1
    5 stars: 3
  • Good points :
    - food in general
    - decoration & atmosphere
    - nice owners
    - gratins & french touch

    Bad points :
    - Burgers are average
    - Prices of desserts
    - irregulary tasty (sometimes from the same dish)

• • birdabroad
    October 1, 2010
    6 reviews
    3 stars: 2
    4 stars: 1
  • I really like Vintage Cafe. I came here for months just for a coffee before I tried the food recently - very solid. The omelets, sandwiches, potato wedges and pasta are all things I've tried that have been very good (the omelets are GIANT).

    The desserts are also very good - I've had the cheese cake, cookies, lemon bread and granola (although one time the cookies/cakes were on the dry side).

    A chill place with friendly fuwuyuan, free wifi, and good food and coffee.

• • Tianli
    August 24, 2010
    2 reviews
    0 stars: 1
    5 stars: 1
  • I disagree with the latest posts:
    - Vintage's service is as slow as before,
    - staff is as unfriendly as before,
    - and the double cheeseburger is hard as concrete.

    The only nice thing about this place: the cakes (when they have it)... unfortunately not enough to balance the rest.

• • scottco1986
    August 7, 2010
    1 reviews
    5 stars: 1
  • The first couple times I went to Vintage Cafe (early 2010), I was rather under-enthused.

    Lately, however, I've given it another try and been pleasantly surprised.

    The menu has a great selection of fruit juices and smoothies, and portions seem to be more than generous.

    I certainly feel like I get more bang for my buck here than at many of the other cafes (especially Sal's).

    The enormous gratin meals cost about Y30 and include a small salad and a plate of bread.

    The salads are also quite good--I'm fond of the Vietnamese dressing.

    Worth giving another shot if you've disappointed in the past.

• • chris
    June 24, 2010
    46 reviews
    4 stars: 23
    5 stars: 12

  • Lately I've found Vintage to be much faster than it used to be and the food and drinks have all been quite good... plenty of unique options on the menu too.

• • 巴克菲尔德镇
    June 18, 2010
    9 reviews
    4 stars: 2
    5 stars: 2

  • Vintage is getting good reviews lately. Can anyone confirm that they've learned how to make a sandwich inside of an hour?

• • putonghua73
    June 11, 2010
    3 reviews
    4 stars: 2
  • Agree with the last reviewer [misseward] that Vintage Cafe is a lovely place, with good ambience, low easy-listening music, and tasteful decor (although the ceiling beams upstairs are on the low side - and require ducking at times when you stand up).

    I tend to alternate between here and Prague Cafe, but have now settled upstairs when I do visit 文林解for coffee, ; place to relax, unwind and get out my Chinese books and study.

    I find that the range of drinks and food (love the iced mochas - and good vegetarian selection, although WinLinJie is excellent for veggies) is excellent - as is Prague Cafe - although I must give a slight nod to Prague Cafe for the drinks on account of the Earthquake; that said, I prefer Vintage Cafe for cakes.

    Good wi-fi and good hospitable service (the 小美 wearing glasses has a cute smile). I prefer the darker feel upstairs to the duck-egg yellow walls of the Prague Cafe, and I feel there are less smokers at the Vintage Cafe than Prague Cafe (big bugbear of mine).

    See you again [Vintage Cafe] at the weekend ;)
    

• • misseward
    November 10, 2009
    4 reviews
    5 stars: 1

  • This is a really lovely place to go if you're sick of going to all the usual suspects along WenLinJie and WenHuaXiang.

    We've been there a few times and always found the food to be great, especially what I had last time - lamb and blue cheese salad. Yum!

    On one or two occasions the service was a bit slow, but it was very busy that night.

    I think some of the things on the breakfast menu are a bit weird - museli in between slices of toast?! WTF!

    All in all, good spot.

• • ohlson
    November 8, 2009
    10 reviews
    1 star: 1
    2 stars: 4
    3 stars: 5
    5 stars: 1

• • tabata
    October 22, 2009
    2 reviews
    5 stars: 2

• • luciole
    July 20, 2009
    1 reviews

  • Invisible, actually our Vietnamese spring rolls are served by plate of 4 (big) pieces and enought for one person! And yes they taste awesome.

    Hegepig, I'm sorry if you get bad service in our cafe, and I know that we lost a lot of customer that way, but we always tried our best.

    As you noticed I'm a chef, barista and maybe also an artist, but surely not a restaurant manager. Even if we still have a lot of problem, I know we serve some of the best desserts, coffee and western food in the wenlin street area (I never drunk a real espresso in kunming and I had a lot)

    I must confess that our food sevice is (very) slow (especially in rush time), and I'm always trying to make it faster( finding new way to organise and teaching my menu to new worker), but you still gotta choose betwen quality and speed.

    Giving us a zero star rate may be a little exagerated but I prefer take this like a warning and will work seriously to improve our service the next year.

    Please remenber that it's been less than two years we open the vintage and these hopes you are talking about are far to be lost.

    Thanks to linna, jared and all the other, your satisfaction is our hapiness.

• • invisible
    July 9, 2009
    27 reviews
    0 stars: 2
    1 star: 8
    2 stars: 2
    3 stars: 3
    4 stars: 6
    5 stars: 3

  • since somebody mentioned the Vietnamese spring roll. I was tempted, but put off by the price 25 RMB for one! Next day I went down the local market and got 8 delicious fresh rolls for 3.5. Can't beat that!

• • pivoine
    July 9, 2009
    1 reviews
    5 stars: 1

• • Linna
    July 9, 2009
    1 reviews
    4 stars: 1
  • I really like this place's relaxed atmosphere. I usually order at the counter and never have to wait long until my drinks/food are served. I like the fact that smoking is banned till 8 pm and that I get a cup of lemon water for free. Also, there is always at least one waiter/waitress who speaks English.

    I was stunned when I read all the negative reviews, but maybe they're in the process of improving their service. And I have to say I'm quite content. Oh, and you have to try their Manhattan Cheese Cake! It's awesome!

• • rollsroyce
    June 9, 2009
    4 reviews

  • wsup homies ~
    so ye
    i've been to vintage the one on wenlie something lu
    its nice
    not bad
    the chinese waiter and waitress ...
    well
    what do u expect
    the waitress and bangkok cafe is rude as hell
    so it makes vintage cafe service look OK
    its a nice ambiance
    go there once

• • Tiger
    April 11, 2008
    5 reviews
    3 stars: 3
  • I'm bound to ask if there is more than one Vintage Cafe in Kunming because the previous review seems to refer to a cafe that my colleagues and I are familiar with. Additionally, rating a cafe that is less than perfect, e.g., glass mugs, one would wonder how 'Jared' would rate the Green Lake Hotel, for example.

    Please reserve the '5' rating for the best place in town . . . unless, of course, you're writing an advertisement.

• • Jared
    April 10, 2008
    5 reviews
    0 stars: 1
    2 stars: 2
    4 stars: 1
    5 stars: 2
  • Despite the mixed response from GoKunming readers, I'd strongly recommend Vintage Café. It is easily one of the best new(er) restaurants in town. The food is great, the atmosphere is comfortable, and the prices are a notch lower than its competitors.

    Vintage is worth a visit if, for no other reason, it is one of the very few restaurants in Kunming with proper hamburgers on offer. I usually alternate between a cheeseburger and one of their sandwiches (the ginger chicken makes for a great lunch if you're looking for something light). The Western dishes all have zesty flavorings that are surely the work of someone who knows what s/he's doing in the kitchen.

    The same might not be said for their Asian offerings. I've heard more than one complaint about their Vietnamese and Chinese food (though I haven't really tried, so I don't know personally).

    Coffee-wise, this is one of the best places to get your java fix. The basic choices are all served as Americanos (espresso + hot water) rather than the more common drip coffee. Prices start at ¥12 for a large cup made with Vietnamese beans. It may take a few minutes but the quality is superb. I'm still not too keen on the glass mugs, but all things considered I don't think it makes much difference.

    While you're sipping your coffee Vintage can be a great place to study or lounge with friends. The ambiance is a tad quieter and brighter than most of what you find in the Wenlin-area. Jazz tracks buzz just an octave above background chatter. A wide layout and a light color scheme mean you don't need an overhead death-ray to see what you're reading.

    As for the servers, they have never seemed inattentive or unfriendly to me. If it seems they're slacking, maybe they are (you might too if you were earning the same wage). Just wave and they'll come right over.

• • lovelb
    April 9, 2008
    8 reviews
    2 stars: 2
    3 stars: 3
    4 stars: 2
    5 stars: 1
  • Went in to try it out. As i stood at the counter (having to ask for the menu) I noticed the worker on the phone say "we are so busy". As i looked around and saw ONE other person in the cafe i decided to leave because i didnt want to wait. But the menu looked decent.

• • m18371
    January 15, 2008
    24 reviews
    0 stars: 1
    1 star: 1
    2 stars: 4
    3 stars: 12
    4 stars: 10
  • Quite open but a bit dark inside as they don't turn the light on till late afternoon. Last time I tried to order the Vietnamese spring rolls as recommended below but that's not available, then I switched to prawn rolls and it's quite average. Atmosphere okay. My fault is that I can't bear too many smokers in the cafe!!!

• • didie
    December 8, 2007
    2 reviews
    3 stars: 1
    5 stars: 1
  • hello , I just want to tell you "vintage cafe" is very nice and lovely , the place is very confortable , the service is very good , food is very fine , and all is ok !

• • Bernie
    November 14, 2007
    21 reviews
    1 star: 5
    2 stars: 4
    3 stars: 10
    4 stars: 5
  • Yes, it does open -- around 4.00 pm for some strange reason. The decor, etc. is very comfortable, and the service was quick and friendly. Nevertheless, it just wasn't our day to order the American Baguette that needed a hatchet to cut into it, and wine-by-the-glass doesn't exist, which is important when the house wine is an unreasonable 88 rmb/bottle. But the desserts are good.

• • dianjing
    October 2, 2007
    6 reviews
    1 star: 1
    2 stars: 2
    3 stars: 2
    5 stars: 2
  • Great Vietnamese spring rolls.

    Good honey sesame chicken.

    Salad is ok, but just iceberg lettuce, should maybe mix with other lettuce.

    Really nice and relaxing atmosphere.
    Looking forward to trying other menu items