Great family owned restaurant and local joint for those near and around Ashby BART in Oakland/Berkeley. If you're looking for an affordable and quick fix for some good, home cooked Chinese food, this is your spot. On cold, rainy days, I like to order the Westlake Beef Soup or an order of the Wor Wonton Soup with a side of Egg Rolls and I'm generally full for hours. I recommend their Dry Fried Ribs, Pork or Shrimp Fried Rice, Beef Chow Fun, Vegetable (or Shrimp) Egg Foo Young to name a few. They're very friendly and are great about answering questions if you're unsure about the menu items and availability. I've tried their lunch specials twice and they were convenient and tasty (not to mention cost effective), but I am generally not in the area during lunch hours otherwise I'd frequent and explore. read more

Even though I love chinese food and look for the best chinese restaurants I still have a place in my heart for chinese food that has been seating out all day under a heat lamp or in steaming trays. Chen's Garden definitely fits my craving for steamed chinese food. So is it good? Its ok, I mean you get what you expect which is a damn good thing, so really this should be five stars. But it really is a three, 2.5 star restaurant. But again they did give me what I was expecting, sweet sour pork with that crazy ass red sauce oozing all over the place, soggy veggies with tofu. Again not good but I wanted that. Oh and I got charged 1$ extra for being under the minimum and using my debit, which sucks, but again could I expect anything less? Five stars for being the chinese restaurant that I love and should avoid! read more

I miss this place, hope they reopen in March like the sign on their door claims. I've had to try other Chinese restaurants that are not as good, in the meantime, and have been disappointed. So Chen's Garden, please come back! read more

We are in the middle of moving. Only three blocks, but we're moving out of a place we have lived in for 23 years, so it's a monumental task. Anyway, last night we finally got our bed moved, and we were starving, and it was 8:30, and I remembered reading some good reviews of this place, which is very close to both homes,. So I jumped into the car and drove over there and parked right outside the door. I didn't order anything fancy, just Hot & Sour Soup, Dry Fried Ribs, and House Special Chow Mein. It was all excellent, and the price couldn't be beat. Next time we'll try the salt and pepper pork chop. Thanks, fellow Yelpers. I'd never had tried this place if I hadn't heard about it here. read more

Well, that sucked. We wanted Chinese. We ordered online and didn't get the food for an hour and a half. Then when we opened it up one of the dishes was the wrong thing. Chicken instead of shrimp. I don't eat chicken. We called them to complain and they hung up. We called again and they didn't answer the phone. We called again and they couldn't hear us. One more time and we made our point. They told us the correct dish would be here in ten minutes. Um....we live probably 12 minutes away. Obviously this wasn't going to happen. Why lie? About 35 minutes later we get the food now that half our party has finished their dishes. There was no refund or extra food given as an apology except the delivery person actually said that those two extra mushu pancakes we ordered didn't get charged. Oh, that'll make it all alright then, I guess. The food itself was boring, watery and without much flavor. read more

Cheap, Fast, Convenient decent food. Will be back when the craving for crispy fried salt & pepper chicken comes around again during lunch. Pretty friendly people too. Most Chinese places are not known for their service but when I went in the second time, the lady actually struck up a conversation and wanted to know what I liked when I couldn't make up my mind. read more

I've never actually eaten here, but I've considered it more than once as I live close by. My office orders from here whenever Chinese comes up in our weekly lunch rotation. The foods pretty good. And since my office orders from here, I know its cheap and it is extremely plentiful. From memory, I recall that the chicken wings and salt-and-pepper pork chops were good, and the rice/noodle dishes were decent. Everything else was around average. Can't say much about the service or restaurant itself, but its worth a try if you're looking for Chinese food in the area. read more

Chens garden always hits the spot. Don't take 3 a date here or think you will enjoy a nice family meal, but the delivery is always on time for a great home meal without messing up the kitchen too much. We do lo-mein instead of chow-mein way better. read more

Solid meal -- got the eggplants and chicken over rice. Good price, about $8 for a generous serving. Much better than some of the similar Chinese takeout places around Berkeley, although it's a little further away. Service was fast; I don't think we waited more than 10-15 minutes from walking in to having food in front of us. The food really had the wok fragrance you just can't get from home cooked Chinese. Not a fancy meal, but it doesn't mean that it wasn't delicious comfort food fit for a relaxed lunch. Definitely coming back if I'm in the area. read more

Yum! This place is delish. We just moved to Emeryville from the city... had so many chinese restaurants at our disposal... This one is great, we'll definitely come back again! We ordered Chicken Chow Mein, Snow Pea Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken. All great, not overly greasy. read more

Drive by here all the time on my way home so figured I'd stop for some take out and give it a shot. Thought I'd play it safe and order General Tso's Chicken and Vegetable LoMein. THIS GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN IS THE MOST DISGUSTING THING EVER AND THERE IS NO WAY THAT IT IS CHICKEN! Greasy. Bland. Yuck. read more

Orange chicken was barely worth finishing. I'm not sure there was actually chicken in there. The fried rice was very good albeit a little on the saltier side. Something about a $1 charge if order is less than $10 - though I'm not sure if that is only for credit card. read more

I have been going to this place since I was in high school (over 10 years). It's my favorite place for Chinese food. The food is amazing!

I've driven past this "hole-in-the-wall" for many years and never stopped...if I even noticed, my thoughts were something along the lines of: "...one of those cheap Chinese places catering to people who don't know any better with far less discriminating tastes than my world traveled taste buds and sensibilities..." Boy was I wrong, (and not just a bit annoyingly judgmental). Worse thing about all this is that I have missed this great little joint for all those years, complaining that there wasn't any decent basic Cantonese-type joints in my area. That'll show me. This place is no frills, but what it lacks in atmosphere, it more than makes up for in decent basic Chinese/Cantonese dishes, prepared with attention and proficiency to basic Chinese cooking techniques, with decent ingredients, and very good size portions. Just as examples: 1. Salt Fried Tofu, which is lightly battered cubes of tofu deep fried, must have proper battering, and proper heat of the oil--hot--to achieve a crispy, non-greasy, and flavorful result. They hit it perfectly, (maybe just a little lighter on the batter)...the real test is in munching the left overs a few hours after they cool. Are they still crunchy, or soggy---theirs were crunchy hours later, (a tip...pop them in the toaster oven for a few minutes...so good)...passing the test with true sastisfaction--I could eat a whole bowl of these while watching a movie on the couch...forget about popcorn. 2. Same for the Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings, perfectly crispy, with staying power, and very nice seasoning of the wings, not overly spicy or salty. Yeah! Yum! Gimme more! 3. String Bean Chicken, with string beans cooked just perfect, slightly al dente, fresh and tasty. A light sauce holds the beans and the nicely sauteed chicken together. Again, the test is hours later when you pull the left overs, cold from the fridge. Most often this dish will be greasy and slippery/too much corn starch, from most places...but at Chen's this dish passed the late night impulse munchies with crunchy sweet string beans, subtly flavored chicken AND....sauce still fluid and savory with no clotting, congealing, or clumping. This is good! Like a tasty cold chicken salad in the second round. 4. Hong Kong Style crispy Chow Mein, my wife's favorite everywhere dish, but it is hard to find it cooked properly...usually crunchy on the outside, soggy or greasy inside, with too much gravy and oil. This dish needs a hot wok, and attention to timing. Chen's does a very respectable version of HK pan-fried, crispy noodles...again without the greasy, soggy residuals at the bottom of the dish. Very satisfying if you have that fried noodle jones going. I too have found the proprietors friendly and responsive. Sevice attentive, polite, and quick. Prices GREAT!, Food very acceptable, (without all the chi-chi, frou-frou gourmand distractions of higher priced and lesser quality culturally diluted, pretenders panderers, and production kitchens). I would venture a guess that the cook/chef at Chen's has very good training, practice, technique, skill, and ethic about cooking, as it shows in the basics that he/she is applying to what would otherwise be another hole-in-the-wall fast food Chinese dive. If you want the exaggerated ambiance, triple the costs of fluffed up pseudo-Chinese dining then join the suburban lemmings rushing to the cliff at PJ Chiangs, or the bourgeois dilusionists at Hank Sing in the City. But for decent , no-frills, clean, plentiful and dependable Cantonese food, fast and cheap--Chen's Garden is a life "savor" ;-) I plan to work my way through the menu, and will most likely find some dishes that may not fare as well, but for the price, quality, and volume this place is worth it....Big Time! read more

Having lived in Chinatown and am a Cantonese food lover had low expectations for my neighborhood place. To my surprise the food is fresh and good , bonus the prices are reasonable. I am getting addicted to this place. read more

Omg amazing Chinese it tasted like a clean premium chicken not somethin else . The sesimie chicken was on 1,000000 the honey walnut shrimp yaaaaaaassss it gave me my life the veggie fried rice had big ass onion hunks in so if ur not really into chewing whole onions then definitely tell them to hold the onion HALVES lol but other than them onion chunks read more

Really fresh, really fast, haven't had anything I didn't like yet. Awesome foo young! This is a great go to place for quick and easy delivery. read more

My shu pork to go....not much of a place for dine in but they offer quick delivery and take out. I am partial to the Mu Shu pork (listed as an appetizer but a full portion) and egg flower soup. Egg rolls so-so dumplings decent. Friendly service at the pick up counter. Not too greasy Minimum charge for delivery since it's close I usually pop over for take out. read more

I really wanted to like this place because it's in my 'hood. Alas I was very disappointed. It's a steam table and I got the 2 item lunch. Fried rice, chow mien , Kung Pao chicken. None of the items were very good. I guess I'm spoiled because there are plenty of decent to good Chinese restaurants in the east bay. I was baffled because there was a bit of a line after me. I suppose people who work nearby who can't travel far for lunch. I don't see going back to this place. read more

Greasy food ,but comforting. Good place to stop for lunch. Very affordable and good portions.

Cheap! And the people that work here are friendly. They now offer brown rice! The food is exactly as I hoped it would be- quick, cheap food to pick up on the way home from work. Nothing fancy, or to get all gourmet on- it's pretty basic. So if you need take-out, this is a place to do it. Bummer though- no cream cheese wontons. Not that I need them... :P read more

This will probably never be the greatest Chinese restaurant in the world. That said, if you order shrewdly, you can make the most of some of the cheap eats Chen's Garden has to offer. Things I've ordered and liked: 1) Pot Stickers - only $4.95 for 8! Sure, they might be a little more doughy than they should be, but 8 for less than $5 is better than most other places if you're craving dumplings. 2) Eggplant with Chicken 3) Salt and Pepper Fried Chicken 4) BBQ Pork Fried Rice Things to avoid: The beef broccoli - there's something weird with it (a little too baking-soda-y for my taste) To wrap up - pretty good value, with quick, personal service. They've saved me in a hunger pinch at least three or five times. read more

My new favorite go to Chinese food place around my house. The chicken chow mien is so good and so is the beef fried rice. They have one of the best salt pepper chicken wings I've ever had. It seems to be super popular because after I ordered it the two customers after me ordered it too. The man taking my order is always so kind and same with the lady that brings out your order. It just sucks that they have a lot of Ghetto people come in and give them a hard time about tax? They must be used to it because the man at the reg. kept his cool the whole time and didn't give the customer attitude. The price is the price plus tax. What don't these people understand. Cheap broke people shouldn't go out to eat if they are gonna complain about $1.70 tax on top of the 6 dollars. JUST SAYIN!!! Everywhere charges tax.... Come on people read more

Always good, especially the sesame chicken and the chicken corn egg flower soup, and super cheap! I'm a fan!

Okay, it's not the best Chinese food in the universe, but I've never had anything here that I didn't like. I've actually had some VERY good Sizzling Rice Soup here. The people are nice, they deliver, it's walking distance from my house and their prices are very affordable. A good local basic Chinese joint. read more

I have now been going here weekly. My initial impression was not what it's cracked up to be. The lady who serves here (and her family) are wonderful and so sweet. I'm a frequent flyer and love the food. I do recommend ordering it fresh instead of getting it from the buffet. It does make a difference :) Great mom & pop Chinese shop! Hope they're around for a while. read more

I came here in search of take out Chinese food. The location is not the nicest. Though there was an abandoned TV outside the building. I ordered some sweet and sour prawns which came with white rice and I got an egg roll to add to it. The sweet and sour sauce was really good, but the shrimp were a bit small and perhaps more breading than seafood. The white rice was plain as to be expected. I wish brown rice didn't cost two bucks extra. And that's not even fried rice, just allegedly healthier brown rice. I may come back here, but would like to scope out the other Chinese offerings. read more

Cheap and fast Chinese food. Two items with rice or noodles comes out to being less than 6 dollars. Can't beat that. Lunch goes from 11 to 2pm. I've been here a few times and I think the lemon chicken is pretty good. read more

I'd never go back again. Place is dirty no clue how to provide service. Food was not what I expected. Wouldn't accommodate a cup of soup said I must have a bowl. Just not my kind of place. I will say the lady was polite and nice but that's it read more

For as long as I can remember, Misty and Lee have been creating good, basic and inexpensive Chinese food. There are no frills here, so don't expect fancy, by any means. But if you're looking for comfort food (for whatever reason), this family-owned place is it. read more

just ordered 4 items for delivery over an hour ago; not Bad, not Bad at all. Pretty speedy delivery, meat impressively tender! Not bad. Thanks! read more

Imagine if you ordered Chinese Food from a Taco Truck in El Salvador that does'nt know what Chinese Food is. Wow. Chen must have paid these reviewers for their comments. This is the Bar none absolute worst food I have ever put in my mouth. They deliver, which is way cool. I've ordered twice, both tasted like they were cooked in a dirty ashtray covered in MSG and animal fat. I couldnt tell what was what, I've never eaten dog or rat or cat, I'm not insinuating anything but the meat was very suspicious. read more

This is cheap chinese food. Don't expect too much. However, the sesame chicken alone warrants a couple extra stars. Warning: the fried wontons are just deep fried rice paper. I've never seen such a thing. read more

You're willing to tolerate a little grizzly mystery meat when only paying $4.95 for dinner. Their prices are almost unbelievably low, and the food is ...meh... "A-OK chinese food". Good portion sizes too. They deliver. read more

Enjoy so much family oriented really nice always treats me and hubby like family the food is delicious too! Its a mom and pop operation so I'd hate to call them divey just small. read more

This place is pretty mediocre. I can't find a place to get good Chinese Food on the West Coast, but I settle for this from time to time. My first time here was horrible, as we had different conceptions about what Sesame Chicken is, but other than that the food isn't bad. The Eggplant is DELICIOUS! The general tso chicken is a toss up - but usually too much outer breading The orange chicken is good - sometimes too much breading The fried rice is ok The House Special Fried rice is pretty good, sometimes I eat it as a meal. It just makes me mad when they miss a chunk of the rice and it's white because it hasn't been cooked. read more

I'm so bummed! It use to be so good but that last two times have been awful. This last time we threw it away because the general tso's chicken tastes like medicine. They stopped taking credit cards for delivery to. Makes it hard for those who don't carry cash and use debit for everything. I'm going to have to find a new go to Chinese place. :-( read more

There is a very nice waiter. Their wings are amazing. Quick service. 10/10 good prices good portions.

Just got takeout. Such nice people. And my first bite of hot and sour soup - FINALLY a place that makes it truly hot and sour. Awesome!

The food isn't that great. The staff is overworked and the place isn't anything to write home about it. It's great for okay tasting dim sum but if you are looking for good Chinese American food, don't come here. read more