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    Kien Svay Cafe

    4.8 (18 reviews)

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    Mi N.

    There severing was good. Is very busy i recommended people giv it a try here. Very good

    Beef stick combo
    Eric S.

    Great quality taste and amazing service. I get food here weekly and it never disappoints. Highly recommended!

    Beef stick
    Chenny O.

    As a Cambodian, I'm always excited to try new Cambodian places that reminds me of home and this place did not disappoint! Typically I would order a bunch of things and maybe like 1 or 2 things because I'm really critical with Cambodian food... but man... this place 10/10! We ordered: Momma wings: 10/10 that sauce had some heat but was also very balanced with a bit of sweetness. The wings itself was also very juicy! Papaya salad: 20/10! Most places are afraid to make it dank but this place makes it the right way! It's the dank that I miss from home! And the sauce was very balanced (I asked for 12 peppers lol) Steak and tirk pro hok: 9/10. The steak was good but I prefer mines medium rare so I would def ask if it's possible next time but that sauce!!!! Most places either don't put enough prahok or put too much and it's not balance. But this was amazingly balanced. Perfect dank, with the right amount of sweetness and citrus to make it good and refreshing. Lort cha: 10/10 and this brings me back home. This dish... is legit Cambodian street food. I used to live there and get this for the 3 pm afternoon snack and to see this on a menu... oh man! Would definitely recommend if you never had it. Beef stick: 10/10 and it's tender! Most beef stick are too chewy or hard with not enough fat to balance but this was great and well seasoned! I am definitely coming back! Also pricing is a great value compared to other Cambodian place in the Bay Area and they are one of the few authentic places that I would recommend to people! The owners are very nice and they put a lot of heart into this. Thank you for giving me a piece of home away from home!

    Alex C.

    Friendly owner and very good authentic Cambodian food. We'll be coming here again for sure.

    Pork with egg over rice
    Kathleen E.

    Authentic Cambodian food. Enjoyed every dish we ordered. Must try the beef stick though! Portion is generous. Service was excellent and place is clean. They also have my fave Momma Beef Jerky, the crispy one. Will definitely go back and try the other items on the menu and the fried banana with ice cream dessert.

    Thai tea so refreshing!
    Maya K.

    My first time trying Kien Svay Cafe and I had an amazing time! The owner is really nice and really helpful explaining each meal to me! All the food and sauces had so much flavor There is plenty of seating and beautiful decorations! I highly recommend checking this place out!

    4 pepper

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    6 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    7 months ago

    Beautiful ambiance with amazing service. Authentic Khmer food served with love! The vibes are truly 100% Cambodian

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    6 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    5 months ago

    taste like home. food portions are pretty good and they have crispy beef chips. .................

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    Ask the Community - Kien Svay Cafe

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    Delicious and flavorful, one of My favorite bowl places. I…read morelove the whole Folds, clean ingredients, low Processed foods. I especially love that they don't use dairy or seed oils in their dressings. I often get all veggie bowls and they are super filling. Much of the menu is also Daniel Fast- friendly

    Came here on the rec of a friend who told me she thought I'd like it. It's about a 24 min drive and…read moreI thought about ordering online for pick up, but it showed it'd only take 10 mins online and I wanted it fresh and crispy so I decided to order when I got there. I will say, if you have somewhere to be *ORDER ONLINE*. I got there and was told to order from the self serve tablet (I could have done this on my phone ahead of time), but I put in my order and sat down to wait for it. At the 22 min mark, the two groups of two behind me got their food before I did, so I went up to the worker behind the bar and asked if my order was ready and I was told mine would be next. All in all- took 32 mins. So again, if you have somewhere to be- order ahead! Food was good. Could definitely tell it was made fresh to order - not only because it took some time but because my friend cauliflower came out PIPING hot. Lots of oil drippings, so if that isn't your thing, may not be for you, but I will say that it was my fav bite. This was a good restaurant- I would say 4 stars for the food alone. BUT if you're in a pinch, either order online or maybe save this spot for when you have more time. Also- I know that good quality food is pricey, this place is no exception. But you pay for what you get and the quality is better than that of fast food.

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    4.3(340 reviews)
    2.5 miPiedmont Ave, North Oakland
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    I'm absolutely blown away. I was surprised about how good everything was. Might have been the best…read morefood I've had this year. My family ordered 1 appetizer, 4 entrees, and 2 drinks, all shared, and all 4 of us agreed that EVERY single item was phenomenal. That has absolutely NEVER happened before. At most restaurants, there's always at least one thing that someone doesn't like, and often multiple things that multiple people don't like. Not the case here. The appetizer was the spicy basil wings. Very good to start. But little did I know what was coming my way. The drinks were Thai tea and lychee limeade. The Thai tea was normal. As in good, I liked it. The lychee limeade was amazing, had to order another one. I would like to try the mango next time (there will definitely be a next time). Very sour, which I love. I hate lemonade that's not sour enough. Oh and that too, I usually hate limeade, don't really care for lemonade, and don't drink soda. I usually only drink water, juice, or tea (no coffee, alcohol rarely). So that's saying something. The Laos fried spring roll entree was really good. I always liked fried rolls but something about this tasted better. They were Laotian rolls, so maybe that was part of the difference from the ones you get from Pho restaurants. The duck over rice was amazing. I'm not usually one to pick duck, I don't mind it but I usually don't order it, but this was my mom's choice and it was really good. I like the sauce too. The Panang duck curry was so good. My mom doesn't even like curry and she liked it. And the Chiang Mai soup dish, I've never had anything like it. It was still hot after, I don't know, 20 minutes maybe? At the bottom especially. We all ate this together at the end, while the other dishes were in the order I listed them for myself (mostly, kinda switched around a bit eating family style), and generally the same for everyone else. I tasted a tiny bit of the soup in the beginning and thought it was nothing special, like when my spoon was clean it was the first thing I scooped. Only the soup though, none of the stuff inside. Honestly I didn't read what was in it, some crispy noodle or something. I was not sure if I would like it but my sister said she had it in Thailand and liked it so if I didn't like it she could eat it. That ended up not being a problem. Okay so anyway, we started on the soup at the end. To start, it was pretty good. Somehow, every bite we took tasted better and better, for at least like 5-10 bites maybe. At that point, I was thinking it's the best thing I've ever tasted. (But of course that's probably not actually true, and I'm just falling for the recency bias, kind of like how my favorite song changes all the time.) Never had anything like it. I've been missing out. But wow, I have to come back. And I highly recommend this place. Life changing experience honestly. Like if you asked me right now if I wanted to get Japanese or Korean (my other favorites) food or this, I would go here. I honestly wanted more of every single dish, especially the fried spring rolls, duck over rice, duck curry, and soup. Wait a second... that's all the entrees we ordered! Also the limeade. I need to get that again. But I also want to try other stuff next time so I'm torn. I literally need all 4 of these dishes again so I don't know what to do. I hope these dishes aren't seasonal or otherwise temporary. I noticed the menu had a month and year listed (I think it said April 2026 and it's May 3 2026 today) so I believe they update it frequently. If I lived closer I would come 20 times in a row and try every single thing, but unfortunately I live in San Ramon so it's not like I'm trying to go to Oakland every day. Soon though. My sister lives there, if I were her I would go here every day until I was sick of it, if that could ever be possible. I don't know if I could ever enjoy other food this much again. I was also completely sober so it wasn't like I had munchies or anything (felt I should specify being a young adult who grew up in California). Hmm, that gives me an idea for the future though. Even the pricing is fair (no dishes over $30), and the place is nice. Great service too. The only drawbacks are small tables for parties over 4 people, and it's REALLY loud in the restaurant, but well worth it. If you are sensitive to noise I'd recommend earplugs, earmuffs, earbuds, headphones, or something. The place is also relatively small. I'd recommend making a reservation if you plan to go on a Friday or Saturday night. It got busy, very busy. Well our reservation was at 6 and it wasn't crowded yet, a couple tables open, but by the time our food came out the place was absolutely packed and I think people without reservations had to wait to sit. I'm not sure though, I was too focused on the amazing food to care. Anyway, once again, highly recommend and I will be back.

    Came here on a Sunday night with my family, and we might have a competitor for our favorite Laos…read moreplace. We got the following : Lao Appetizers Plate - Everything had great texture with the sausage standing out the most to me. Very soft and not too salty. Garlic Pork Spare Ribs - Great flavor, but a little on the dry side. Still tender enough to enjoy. Duck Larb Salad - Bright flavors and everything worked really well together. Recommend adding this to any meal balance out the other fried items. Kao Piak - I find that most places over cook their chickens, but the meats here were cooked perfectly. Broth was a bit salty for me, and I usually like the broth thicker, but still good overall. Mango Sticky Rice - I liked the crispy fried rice bits that added a nice crunch. Mango wasn't quite in season right now, but it was still sweet and soft enough. Overall service was great, and there is a lot of parking in the area. Def recommend checking it out.

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    We have been going to Catos for years and years. It is our place for lunch and to hash out family…read moreand work stuff over a pint of beer! Staff is friendly and efficient and the food has always been good!!! I think they have a new chef - the food in the last month or so is really good! Today Husband had sticky ribs - sauce with Asian flavors and the meat tender but not dry!! SO yummy!! I had steak frites - a little on the boring side, but cooked perfectly! (the dog loved loved loved the left over steak) Here is the main reason I am writing this review. A friend of mine has been battling a health issue for several months and ended up back at Kaiser Hospital for 10 days. If you have ever had a stay Kaiser Hospital - the food is atrocious on a good day. So my friends' family brought her food during her stay. This time all from Catos!! The family lives in the east bay and are not regulars to our Piecmont Ave neighborhood. They loved the food - worth traveling for!! One of her daughters said she would come to Oakland just for Catos burgers - Mac and Cheese - Obama sandwiches and pizza!! My friend is home and healing well - Good job Catos - I am so happy you are part of our comunity!!

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    Exterior

    Kien Svay Cafe - salad - Updated May 2026

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