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    Chef Chao Restaurant

    4.0 (196 reviews)
    ModerateChinese
    Closed 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM

    Order Chef Chao Restaurant Takeout or Delivery

    Chef Chao Restaurant Photos

    CHEF CHAO RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Chef Chao Restaurant

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    Reviews With Photos

    Not what I expected, small and dry
    Amy C.

    A bit disappointed! Just look at the photos! Not sure why they post a photo nothing like the real dish.

    Lobby
    Tom S.

    The food is always fantastic and Bill, our waiter, is always eager to please and is so kind and professional. We had a great time!

    a table set for a meal
    Joshua S.

    Great service and food! It is probably the best Chinese food you could get in the town of Moraga, and it is less than 5 minutes from Saint Mary's! The old man who served us was really sweet. I was not trying to spend any money and I actually didn't even know about this place, I just tagged along with a few friends that wanted to come. I didn't order anything myself because I'm saving money and didn't want to freeload, but the portions were big enough that my friends didn't finish their stuff so I just ate everything left, and it was a good amount! The dining room is kind of fancy, well anyway, nicer than what a typical college student goes to on a regular basis!

    Eggplant Tempura.
    Damon J.

    I enjoy eating here. The place is a good size, ready to accommodate multiple dinner parties. It has a very welcoming dining area. I'm glad that they are busy tonight with the popular movie playing at the theater. They'll stop by to say hello as always. The food is fresh here and I rotate the dishes I order when I visit. There's many wonderful options available on the menu and all tasty.

    Spicy eggplant chicken and vegetables
    Jack C.

    We tried this place for lunch for the first time and we were pleasantly surprised. My wife ordered the lunch special with vegetables and requested to have tufu added, and I ordered the lunch special with spicy eggplant and chicken. Portions were large and we shared both dishes. They were both delicious. Lunch special came with a choice of soup, an egg roll, choice of rice, entree, and a fortune cookie. Good value for the price. We go to the 24 Hour Fitness next door and have seen this place many times, but have not tried it until today. We will definitely be back. Service was great and there is plenty of free parking.

    Rainbow chicken (with crispy chicken), bbq pork fried rice, beef chow fun
    Elisa P.

    We had a great time at this place. I loved the ambiance and the staff was so kind and helpful. It definitely has a classy vibe but it's acceptable to not be dressed up. We ordered the Rainbow Chicken, BBQ Pork Fried Rice, and Beef Chow Fun. The rainbow chicken was our favorite! Very tasty and we asked to substitute the chicken breast for the crispy chicken and our waiter was very accurate in getting that done. The bbq pork fried rice was also very tasty and I would order it again. Beef chow fun I would look somewhere else to eat this dish, it wasn't the most flavorful here. This is a great dinner spot and I would definitely come back to try more things!

    Sweet and sour chicken, bbq pork chow mein
    Rita W.

    Was looking for a Chinese restaurant we haven't tried around the area, and Chef Chao came up. It was a nice surprise seeing Chef Chao was nearby other Moraga places we somewhat frequent. We tried the following, but unfortunately, most of it was rather bland. Sweet and Sour Chicken - one of the daughter's favorite dishes from Chinese restaurants. She thought this one was OK, but wasn't excited for it. My son said it was very bland and it took a while to get him to eat his dinner. I tried some, and agree with them. The dish looked really good, much better than it tasted. Chow Mein - pretty standard. Expected more for $12 for noodles. Fried Calamari - it was alright, not much to say about it. Spring Rolls - the person that ordered these said they were just okay. Glad that she tried them, but prefers elsewhere. Szechwan Beef - again, looked amazing, but bland tasting. It seemed some seasoning was missed. There were some other dishes we tried, but they were so unmemorable unfortunately. The restaurant has a nice space and the workers that evening seemed really nice. Ordering and pick up was really easy, but the common theme was that all the dishes lacked some kind of seasoning. Hopefully that means they were lower on the sodium side since it'd help if I lowered my sodium levels! Perhaps it was an off night, but who can say.

    "Onion pancake" - super greasy
    Courtney A.

    Not impressed at all. Wonton soup was super over cooked. The wontons were soggy and I had scrap vegetables in it. 3 snap peas and 5 celery sticks. So disappointing. When I get wonton soup I look forward to the bok Choy and carrots. I was not so lucky this time. The spicy wontons were not spicy at all. They were super sweet and cold to boot. The onion pancake tasted like fried wonton wrapper. No onions or onion flavor at all. I do not recommend and I will not order again.

    Chowmein

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    5 months ago

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    5 months ago

    The food is mediocre, at best. A fast food drive through offers better hospitality than this place. My recommendation is to go elsewhere.

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    7 months ago

    Always perfect!!! Everything is great and the restaurant is very clean. I cannot emphasize how much pride they take in their facility

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    4 years ago

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    1 year ago

    we love coming here - especially for the lunch special! we order the sesame walnut prawns and the spicy eggplant chicken with fried rice.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Service was amazing and very attentive. Food was delicious. Great find highly recommend the asparagus prawns

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    1 year ago

    Consistently great food! Service is very good and it has a much nicer dining room than other Chinese restaurants in the area

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    3 years ago

    We have only ordered takeout from here. The food is really good. I especially love their egg drop soup.

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    Szechwan Chinese Restaurant - Eggplant with tofu

    Szechwan Chinese Restaurant

    3.9(185 reviews)
    3.9 mi
    $$

    I had a very nice first time experience at Szechwan Chinese Restaurant in Orinda. I saw this place…read morecross my Yelp feed a few times, so I decided to stop by and try their Wor Won Ton Soup. I also saw that they served "house made" Potstickers, so I had to try them. I was there on a Tuesday evening at around 5pm. This place has a very cozy and comfortable atmosphere. Their Wor Won Ton Soup is served with a rich, brown broth. The satisfying soup is loaded with veggies, meats, shrimp and 9-10 dumplings. The potstickers came after my soup, but they were worth the wait. They were fresh, plump and tasty. While I was waiting for them to be served, I heard a familiar sound coming from the kitchen.....a rapid chopping sound. It brought back memories of my grandmother making dumplings, and finely chopping the meat for the filling. Service was prompt and attentive. Much attention to detail. For dessert, at no extra charge.....a unique way to serve orange wedges. I plan to return and try their lunch plates.

    I first had Szechwan Chinese food in Ohio where I grew up. It was spicy. Very spicy. Likely toned…read moredown some from how spicy it would be in China, but it was not Chinese American bland. The Mongolian Beef had zero spice. The sauce was so sweet it was like eating candy. The beef was tender at least. I was too hungry to send it back. My mother's chicken with vegetables was more bland than any Chinese American food I've had. No garlic or ginger flavor in the sauce. Some of the veggies were barely cooked. The service was fine and came fairly quickly. Nice sized portions. The bathroom desperately needs attention. I would not recommend or return.

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    Lou's Chicken Shop - Fish sauce chicken sandwich

    Lou's Chicken Shop

    4.7(137 reviews)
    0.1 mi
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    SCREAMING 5 STARS!!!! Now that I have your attention, stop what you're doing and come eat here…read more The traditional house and fish sauce fried chicken Sammy were BOTH as good as the best I've ever had. Absolutely perfect from flavor to assembly, flawlessly placed on brioche bun. I appreciate that the coleslaws punch in perfect balance without mayo. You can watch them batter and fry it to order, if you're one of those foodies that likes to watch. I loved it all so much I seriously found myself getting almost sad towards the last few bites. Last but almost *first are the best tater tot's you will ever have. It's a bold claim I'd love to be proven wrong on. And feel free to message me if you find a better tot! They are perfectly cooked and seasoned with things you should come in and talk to the seriously friendly owner personally about. He'll tell you. Super cool guy and was so nice to serve me and my brother 5 minutes before closing. In summary- uncomplicated comfort food you'd never be able to replicate at home with a fair price and flavor that you'll be telling your friends about and possibly, even yelping about.

    I ordered Lou's for dinner last night and it's taking all of my willpower not to order it again…read moretonight. But I think I might give in... it's just so good! The fried chicken is perfectly crispy and light, and the flavor is amazing. The cucumbers were awesome too, I need to try the rest of the menu!

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    East Ocean Seafood Restaurant - Succulent BBQ ribs (Jan 2026)

    East Ocean Seafood Restaurant

    3.7(200 reviews)
    6.3 mi
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    I have become a creature of habit at East Ocean because I keep ordering the same thing: the…read moreMongolian Beef lunch special with steamed rice, and I always add the hot & sour soup. The portions are generous, so I usually order it to go and have plenty left for another meal. The little green salad comes with a dressing I really enjoy, and they also include delicate, crispy fried wonton chips -- a surprisingly tasty little extra. I've only ordered this one meal at East Ocean, but I've ordered it many times and have always enjoyed it. When you find something you really like, why mess with it?

    gave this place a try since we were initially going to try the sushi place next door, but the wait…read morewas extremely long....this place was smaller than expected, however, for a friday evening, we were seated right away. the pros: - fast service - dim sum at dinner time!? we were so stoked! - the honey walnut prawns were amazing here. large prawns, fresh crunchy but light batter, not too sweet and the walnuts were candied perfectly - waitresses were very kind and attentive - brought out a toddler friendly water cup for my little one without having to ask for one - complimentary cucumber salad and peanuts as appetizers - several tvs for entertainment - bbq pork buns were good; soft and flavorful - congee was just as expected cons: - we ordered the fried shrimp dimsum (balls?) which came out last, and unfortunately were SO overcooked and burnt on the bottom....they were INCREDIBLY difficult to eat. i mean, we couldn't even stick our fork through because they were just rock solid hard... we tried to address this in the nicest way possible, but didn't get it remade or taken off the bill /: we appreciate the apologies but inedible food shouldn't have been served, or nonetheless, charged for... - shumai was good but bottom of the wrapper was mushy and overcooked - hargow didn't have much flavor - chow fun was basic and had a lot of onions/spring onions...(and i'm usually a gal that doesn't mind extra onions but it was almost like 50% onions and 50% noodles - our little one couldn't eat much of it) - while others got their to-go boxes handed to them, for whatever reason, our waitress took our leftovers to the back to box up. we didn't mind this, HOWEVER, as the waitress was picking up our food, she began coughing so much :( all over our food and TWICE in my face....my husband looked over at me in complete shock. i didn't even know how to react without being rude but that being the last part of our experience makes me a bit disappointed and don't feel too comfortable coming back /: while dining, we had high hopes of this being our new dim sum place since we moved and aren't close to our favorite/usual spots anymore. overall, good but not the best. our personal experience was just okay.

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