Food will be 4 star but everything in their menu is pricy already and they still forcibly charge 18% tips to the bill before even giving us an option. We would have given 20% tips but I just don't like that they inform us tips already charged to our credit card without evening asking us, we are only 2 people. It's not like we are a large party size. read more

Finally, after moving here from Rockville (Asian food heaven) it took us a while but we finally found a good Chinese restaurant. They were very accommodating with our baby chair, gave us a nice corner table. Food portions are great, quality of the ingredients it top notch and they had items you can't find at Americanized places (too many around here). Our new go-to for Chinese in the area. The pictures on the menu are nice for people that aren't sure too. read more

Folks, you must ask for the Taiwanese menu in order to get the best this place offers. My buddy and I had the steamed Fluke with ginger, shallots and it was amazing. We also had the Vegetable Delight, potstickers and the hot and sour soup. One of the best soups in the DC area. The only issue with is place is that it's in a non-descript office building flanked by Subway and there are very few tables. What they lack in space, they certainly more than make up for in food and they have a very extensive tea menu. I have not had a bad dish in my many times I have visited and with the Taiwanese menu, it is that much better and I'll work way through the extensive menu if it kills me! My favored Chinese cuisine is still Schezuan but the execution is outstanding at Yen's and it is very, very good. People are very friendly as well. Finishing this review so I can go again for dinner now... read more

Yen's Cafe - Lobster with ginger and scallions. - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

See all

Why isn't there 4.5 stars? I think this place almost deserves 5 stars. The food is great great great. The service is okay and the ambiance...well, we don't come for that. Try all their dishes on their Taiwainese menu which you have to ask for separately. They do not just give it to you. Chicken with chinese broccoli and crispy noodles, spicy beef salt and pepper shrimp seafood in birds nest taiwanese fried chicken(THIS IS A MUST ORDER) lo mein with pork mom's homemade dumplings read more

Yen's Cafe - Pork pan fried noodles and spicy flounder. Ah- maizing!!!! - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

See all

Fantastic experience on a long awaited visit to have a taste of homestyle deliciousness from my Momma's motherland. I'll say it has the hospitality, specialty dishes, and ambiance that the Taiwanese can offer. It was a humid day and the staff was doing it's best to keep the air flowing through the place. The management was great at visiting tables and checking on their patrons. The food was fresh and appealing, served promptly to our table. The dishes were creative and bountiful. The tea was delicious! It was especially delightful when the staff sang, " Happy Birthday," to me and gave me a balloon animal and cupcake with maraschino cherry. read more

See all

What kind of jerk writes three updates of the same restaurant? :: raises hand :: I really struggle with sharing this, because I want to keep it all to myself, but Yen's has a secret menu. I don't know if any ole person can order from it, but if you go there enough and struggle with what to order you might get asked if you want "something authentic." Uhhh... yeah, I do. Thanks for asking. I ended up with Chinese Pork and Oyster Mushrooms. The name is kinda misleading 'cause this ain't your momma's Chinese Pork. Imagine a tool that you could use to scoop out one inch cubes of pork; cubes that are the perfect mix of meat, fat and skin. Now use that tool to make patchwork of Porky and cook it until chopstick tender in a star anise based sauce. Thing is, the super-secret menu changes every week... so I'm not sure you'll ever have a chance to try it. If that is indeed the case, I weep for you. Hopefully whatever you do get is equally as tasty. read more

Best Chinese food in Ashburn hands down! They actually have authentic Chinese and Taiwanese dishes. My go to dishes are the Salt and Pepper pork chops, pork belly in mom's sauce, and the Taiwanese fried chicken. Their dine in seating is very limited. So go early for dinner. Most of the time we do take out. I believe they have delivery. read more

Yen's Cafe - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

See all

We haven't ordered from Yen's Cafe for many months. I don't know why since it's just down the street from us. Today we picked up an order of vegetarian noodles, hot and sour soup, mapo tofu and Taiwan style fried chicken - all were fresh and delicious. The man who answered my call was courteous and helpful. We're definitely be ordering frequently from now on. read more

Get the beef & broccoli-if you're into those two it might be the best for that in the area. Smoothies are decent, and the bubble tea is amazing. That's all I've tried, on and the customer service is great! read more

Yum! I am pretty picky when it comes to Chinese food (generally don't really like it) and I just have to say it is delicious here. I have dined in and taken out. They are closed on Mondays currently says a sign on the door...but the other 6 days you should be good to go. So here is the low down on this place: Atmosphere: If you plan to dine in be warned that the restaurant is very tiny. Not many tables at all. Service: The experience eating in was fantastic. My friend ordered tea and it was served in a gorgeous teapot and when she was ready to leave they boxed it for her to go along with the tea bag while giving instruction how to make the most of the tea bag when she was home. We were ben served these little donut like dessert. So Yummy! Food: Delicious. Everything from the presentation to the ingredients. It is some of the better Chinese food I have had. Take Out: So you can order online and it lets you get very specific of how you want your meal if you want to leave an ingredient out, change it to white meat, add an ingredient in or specify the level of spiciness for a dish! I LOVE their online ordering system. You can even pay for your order online and then just walk in and pick up your order! Plan to return many times as this will be my go to Chinese place...I just wish my other half liked Chinese food. read more

Yen's Cafe deserves all of the awards. This is THE place for good Chinese food that tastes like it would if you visited Taiwan. I have lived in Hong Kong and Beijing for almost half of my life and would like to believe I still have a strong palette for distinguishing "real" Chinese food versus dishes that cater to the West's taste. But gosh....I knew immediately that from the pork jiao zi (steamed dumpling) that this place was legit. They taste just like the ones my Chinese international friends and I make at college....from scratch. They taste just like the ones we make and I wish they served more than just 10!! Delightful and attentive staff, generous portions, amazing food...what more can you ask for? Just note: it's quite small (since most of their business is driven by takeout orders), so if you want to dine in don't come during peak hours. Oh, and they are closed on Mondays to prep for the week!! :) read more

See all

We used to order regularly from this, the original version of Yen's. But as service and quality slipped, we migrated over to the "New Yen's " / Yen's Kitchen & Sushi Bar. They seem to be more consistent and just better. Since it was a Tuesday and "New Yen's" was closed, we decided to give the classic Yen's a shot. For the price, it was just so / so at best. Our order was delayed, our driver was there waiting for it for some time. It got to the point that I called the restaurant to see what was going on, I felt bad for the guy. He said they also seemed to be prioritizing take out orders over delivery. Most of the order arrived warm and one dish hot, so that probably explains it. It wasn't the driver, he was here quickly from pick-up. But the food was also bland at best. Just not up to the standard they have set in the past or the prices they charge (which are even higher on DoorDash). read more

Food was delicious. The young woman who served us, is from Vietnam, and she was very good. I like that fact that if you paid cash, you receive 10% off the entire order. We will definitely be back. read more

See all

Just got home after a delicious "home-cooked" meal at Yens Cafe. Soo satisfying and you can tell there's a lot of love in the food. I grew up in China and can attest that Yens is very authentic. Sure, they have the dishes that cater to those with more unadventurous palates looking for Americanized Chinese food, but there's nothing wrong with that. They have most of my favorites and I found it extremely stressful to pick only 3 or 4 items from the huge menu. My boyfriend and I ended up settling on the following: - SP01 Corn and Ham Egg Drop Soup: Just believe me, it's good. It doesn't necessarily SOUND like the most appetizing mix, but it is. And at $2.50 for a heaping bowl, it's a great deal. A good appetizer to start off with. And if you hate it then hey, it was only $2.50 :-) - A05 Potstickers: Sooo plump and juicy. All meat, no fillers (to the delight of my boyfriend). Would highly recommend these. I'm sure the steamed dumplings are also delicious! - CK20 Traditional Three Cup Chicken: Huge flavor. A traditional Taiwanese recipe cooked with tons of garlic, ginger, fresh Thai basil, and other wonderful things. One of my favorite things to do is scoop up some of this sauce and spoon it over white rice. - P20 Minced Pork String Bean with Dry Black Bean & Chili - this is minced pork and green beans served with 'bao' = really warm and fluffy buns. You spoon the pork/green beans into the buns. Great presentation and sooooo good. At the end of our meal we were surprised by a warm custard bun. I feel like I sound like a broken record by now, but it was SO DELICIOUS! Also want to talk about the staff. One of the ladies came over and asked how we heard about Yens, where we're from, etc. and explained that at Yens, their customers are family. Multiple people came by and asked if we were enjoying our food, and it seemed like they really cared. How refreshing! One logistical note: It's a small space with maybe 8 tables so it might not be a bad idea to call ahead or make a reservation. We just walked in and were seated right away (8pm on a Friday), but if you're a planner and want to be sure there's space, give them a call. read more

Yen's Cafe - Traditional 3 Cup Chicken - HIGHLY recommend - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

See all

While this place isn't perfect, this is definitely the best I have found for take-out Chinese and we order from here every Friday! Highlights: Potstickers -- I love how they leave them uncovered when delivering since they are pan fried and don't want them to get soggy. Even though the soup is usually a bit bland, it becomes quite tasty after adding hot sauce and the fried noodles. The General Tso's Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken is delicious. Very flavorful and I love that the General Tso's Chicken wasn't overly sweet which happens often. Disappointments: The skin on the spring rolls is too thick for my liking - it should be more proportional to the filling. We usually order online and their credit card system is almost always down so then we have to call to pay by credit card. Also every single week I ask for hot sauce and every single week they don't include it. Even when I call to tell them to put hot sauce, they don't. That gets pretty irritating after a while. Because I am an avid fan of Kung Pao chicken -- this is our go-to for Chinese! read more

Best Taiwanese place in the DMV area. Things to order and share: West Lake Beef soup; Traditions 3 cups chicken (fried chicken); Shrimp dumplings; Taiwan cabbage with garlic; Hot tea read more

It was not the worst Chinese I have ever had but it most definitely was not the best. The general tso and sesame chicken tasted pretty good but the pork fried rice didn't have much flavor. The crab Rangoon was pretty good, but was a little too heavy on the cream cheese. Whatever you do DO NOT get the Shanghai Spring Rolls. I was really looking forward to them but they were bad. I couldn't taste anything but shrimp when I bit into them. Not even a hint of anything else. And it tasted like rotten shrimp at that. Took me forever to get the taste out of my mouth. Although they weren't completely terrible, I probably won't order from them again. read more

We tried this place as Yen's kitchen and sushi and Asia Cafe were closed on a Tuesday. Unfortunately, we were underwhelmed. Sesame chicken and orange chicken were just bland and tasted like frozen chicken nuggets dipped in a bottled sauce. The crispy chicken had almost no flavor. We will not be returning. Giving it two stars as the delivery was quick and the food was hot. read more

The food is great here every time. I recommend this place. The lady at the front who receives the orders is very friendly as well

The three cup chicken was fantastic. I hope to be in the area again just to get this dish. Chunks of chicken cooked with while garlic cloves, freshly sliced ginger, and basil. The flavors are just wonderful and the garlic and ginger helped with the cold I was fighting off. Staff is very friendly and lunch prices are reasonable (three cup chicken not on lunch menu). Location was not GPS friendly but once you get to the industrial area you can drive around until you find it on the end next to subway. read more

This is a great restaurant. Excellent food and service. Love this place. They also have great verity specially various tea option.

Food is always spot on and so flavorful. I love the Tawainese chicken and the pork and veggie steamed dumplings but we are working through their diverse menu. The ladies who may own the place are so friendly and a joy to talk to. read more

I was dying to try this restaurant since it is getting great view on Yelp. My office is very close to this restaurant. When I entered this restaurant, it is very small. I love tea. They have a huge selection of tea. I love it. It makes me keep coming back to try a new thing. I ordered General Tso's chicken from Lunch menu. I picked soup and salad as a side. I liked the sauce that they used for chicken. It was very tasty but it was not too spicy and too oily either. If you finish eating and ask them the check, they bring Chinese sweet (donuts), It was freshly fried. I love it. Also when I opened the check book, they gave me a chocolate. The waiters were very friendly and came by my table to see whether I was enjoying the food or not. This is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants. read more

Excellent food. The fried chicken is terrific. They use dark meat and the bread batter is good. A bit over seasoning but still great. The wonton had thin shells which is how it should be. We went on a Wednesday so no reservation necessary but i see some comments about calling ahead. I did just in case and they were nice and courteous. read more

It is a very small place, but the food is overall really good. We have 7 people and the waitress put two tables together for us. We ordered quite a few dishes and they are all delicious. I particularly like the bean curd with beef. The service we received were really good as well, attentive and friendly. I wish I live closer to this place. read more

"Simple food is good food", our waitress tells us as Boo-Thang and I get comfortable for our close encounter of a Yen's kind. This was our second trip, and it was even better than the first. We drove two hours across state lines to make our return and are already planning our next visit. We first found it hunting Yelp after a trip to the Air & Space Museum Annex. Skip the Space Shuttle and go straight to dumplings, they're out of this world. On our first journey we had the signature pork, string beans, and buns and they live up to the hype. This time we asked for recommendations, staying away from repeats (aside from the dumplings) and wow! Taiwanese fried chicken that was 10/10 better than the hipster spot in downtown DC. The bacon and cabbage, with green chilies and garlic was some serious comfort food for my Irish roots but nothing like grandma made. It was way better than Grandma's. We rounded it off with the braised meatballs which on their own were amazing, but Boo-Thang and I agree the ground pork with string beans and buns would've been better. Just make sure you get the shrimp and leek dumplings. You're going to eat the first one and JUST KNOW that you're in for a great meal. Then you'll eat the second one with the garlic and chili sauce and if that doesn't get your motor running I'm truly sorry. From there it's a quixotic meal exceeding all your expectations for a place self-described as "behind the Panera". PRO-TIP: If the waitress doesn't say "are you sure? that's a lot of food." you're doing it wrong. Two entrees and dumplings is the minimum, but if you're hungry go for Three. We're looking forward to trying soups on the next visit. read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. One of the worst restaurant experiences ever. We came because we were hearing great things about this place but honestly the service was so horrible we didnt even get to our food. First of all, they tried to seat me and my husband at a table jammed up against high chairs and the bathroom entrance. I requested a booth seat because I'm late into my pregnancy and I have back issues and they were not willing to accommodate period. After 5 min of being seated the guy changes his mind and seats us at a booth. So I thought okay so maybe I wont write about how terrible the experience is so far. After 20 minutes of waiting, NO ONE took our order. In fact they didnt even look at us. They passed by us asking everyone else about their food and didnt even ask what we'd like to drink or start with. There was another party that came AFTER us and they took theibr order immediately before us. So after a few minutes and more of them passing us by without even looking we just got up and left. WORST. I would have loved to say something nice about their food here but if only they took our order so we could actually try and give them a better rating. read more

This place was great. We reserved a table for 730pm and we are glad we did because they were super busy. It is a very small place, maybe ten tables total so I can imagine there could be a wait during dinner time and the weekend. I would suggest getting menu items that have a heart next to it because that means it is genuine Taiwanese food. The rest of the food is Americanized Chinese food. Our table got the Mango/Passionfruit tea which was delicious and was enough for each of us to have at least two cups (party of six). We ordered a lot of different items for our table to share and all were great. Our server was awesome and helped us out so much and accommodated our vegetarian and pregnant friend very well. The food portions are rather large and can feed you well with extra to spare. As an appetizer I would suggest the Crab Rangoon. It comes with the normal sweet sauce and a spicy wasabi sauce. We are excited to come back soon to try more tea! read more

Yen's Cafe - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

First time coming here and couldn't even get our food. Why? NOBODY wanted to take our order or should I say, ignored us. We waited almost 20 minutes for someone to take our order! Really surprised they even managed to provide us water. This place is small so there's no excuse at all. Absolutely unprofessional. I'm not expecting a 5 star customer service, but at least get our damn order. Shame really because the food looked good and I'm sure it is based on the good reviews. Way to avoid business and ignore a new customer. read more

When you're in unfamiliar territory and get hungry what do you do...you Yelp it! Since my sister didn't cook anything I was forced to eat out (need to talk to her about that one day). Pulled out my iPad and did a quick Yelp search and decided on Yen's Café. I arrived shortly after 3 and missed the lunch specials, no big deal so I decided to try something I'll do every so often. I was seated and asked what I would like to eat, I then handed the menu back to her (an older very polite lady, possibly owner or manager) and asked her to ask the chef to prepare for me whatever he wanted me to eat but I was very specific about NOT receiving a dish from the general menu, I wanted something more traditional. I immediately noticed her facial expression change to a look of slight confusion since I guess she wasn't accustomed to a request such as this. I basically told her that I'm not your General Tso's kind of guy when I dine out, not that I don't like GTC but you can get that anywhere. I guess places like Bob's Noodle 66 (Rockville) and Grace Garden (Odenton, MD) have cultured me into enjoying more traditional Chinese cuisine. Smile on her face now followed by many questions :) We chatted for a few minutes until my order came out then I was presented with braised pork belly and tofu with a subtle sweet brown sauce. The dish was light, clean and flavorful. The only gripe I have was the price at roughly $19 but I guess when you ask for something special you also receive a "special" price, lol. I can tell the chef cares about his art and making a good impression on a first time visitor. Yes I will be returning to Yen's Café. read more

Yen's Cafe - Braised pork belly with tofu. - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

This place is hidden, and small on the inside, but the owner and chef infused it with heart and soul in every way. From food (no MSG) to drinks to bathroom (when's the last time you've seen the thick 3-ply TP for customers? I don't even use that at home!) Food recommendations: The taste is Taiwanese, anything on the Yen's specialties list are authentic yet creative, it's a working oxymoron. Mongo Beef is one of my favorites, their "Lion's head" (meatballs in clay pot) is very traditional, thing we eat at home and you won't find it in many places since it's more labor intenstive. All things on the list is $16 but the quality is top notch, they'd use the jumbo shrimp, fresh and ripe fruits, portions big enough a table of 6 can take at least 2+ spoons each person. They also have Taiwanese equiv of spaghetti sauce on rice, something we eat at home as well. Drinks: ask for the fruit tea, it'll take 20 or so mins to make and they must have enough fresh fruits that day but it's worth the wait. No canned fruits, everything's fresh cut. Sooner or later other restaurants will mimic this, but here it's all about quality. Dessert: As in the photo, they currently offer home-made pudding, which I can only describe as ambrosiac. Not too sweet and just firm enough. This' not on the menu yet so it's a free sample if you ask for it. Even as a free sample they didn't slack on plating and garnish. All in all this is like being invited to dinner at someone's house who loves to entertain, encourages eating healthy, and really wants to inspire your taste buds. read more

See all

I don't know if ownership changed or if they just don't care anymore, but I had some horrible service today. I work in DC and some days the traffic back into Ashburn can be extra bad. Today was a bad day and it took me over 1.5 hours to get back home. I didn't want to think about making dinner, so I gave Yens a call. I ordered and they said it would 15-20 mins. I get there 15 mins later and there are other people just waiting for their carryout orders. I watch other orders come out and none of them are mine. I end up waiting over 25 mins for my food! I'm not exaggerating because my wife was waiting in the car and she was pissed. Also, we specifically told them not to make our dish spicy. And of course it's crazy hot. So spicy that we couldn't finish it. Mind you, my wife and I are both Asian and we eat super spicy food all the time, but this dish was so hot I was literally sweating. Yens is not cheap and their portion sizes are not big, so at this price point customers should expect great service and quality food. Neither of these were experienced today. They need to start paying attention to the details. read more

We tried some other dishes during our second visit. The dish with the code P20 was still great, the other beef dish we tried out was a like a joke - overly fired, no real taste of beef nor meat. I wanted to like this place coz it is so convenient for me to eat there, but I just can't help but noticing how unimpressive their cookings are, and how anointing their services are. read more

See all

Tuesday | 1230 Taiwan Style Beef with Chinese Water Spinach in Sha-Cha Sauce | Taiwan Style Fried Chicken | Minced Pork & Diced String Bean, with Black Bean, Hot Chili, Bun with Basil | Avocado Milk Juice | Avocado Pineapple Juice Came during lunch hour and was quite busy, we came as a party of two and we were sat at a smaller table but was able to move once a bigger table was available. At around this time they do have a lunch special menu, however we wanted to try other things so we moved on to the menu of so many things. Overall the food was good but for the price of 15$ a dish, gah dayum! The Beef and spinach was a good mix, beef was tender and flavor with the spinach was a nice compliment to tame the taste down. Taiwanese chicken was good, but *hint* there's a location that sells Taiwanese chicken for half the cost @ 8 bucks that includes rice and ground pork. (Bang4Buck) The Pork buns were definitely an eye appealing dish, set up your own bun but gets a bit messy. By the end of it you'll probably be spooning the rest of it. The drink menu, holly fcuk. There's a lot to choose from juices? smoothies to OG teas. What makes this unique is each drink defines itself with an element that will assists your body in naturally developing a chemistry that you cannot decide on which herbal potion you would want to revive yourself with. SO we had the juices mentioned above not knowing what to expect, thinking as if it would be more of a liquid type juice however ends up being a thick smoothie type. I would recommend these to be a dessert. However the teas, im sure you cant go wrong throughout the meal. As they say, tea is good for digestion The service was absolutely prompt & friendly, though at first when we were ordering they thought they had ran out of a dish, so therefore we had ordered something else. When we were receiving our entrees they actually brought out what they thought they had ran out of, however they were able to give us a discounted rate. 3 Stars for food and extra .5 for service and drink variety ! Would i ever come back? Probably would just to try out the teas, drinks, and their lunch special. Perhaps a second chance for dinner Hype is teasing read more

See all

This remains one of our favorite places for both dining-in and take out. Our favorites are fish in chef's special sauce, chicken in black bean sauce, double pan fried noodles with vegetables, Taiwanese style dumplings, Taiwanese style lo-mein. We have tried many other dishes which never disappointed us. read more

Scenario: COVID-19 Curbside Pickup I drive up and get my order, as I am pulling off I am looking in the bag and realize the plastic utensils are not there, planning to eat while I drive around just to get out the house. I circle back around to inform the restaurant employee. Me: Excuse me, there are no utensils in the bag, may I get a fork? Him: "Well you didn't ask for any!" Me: May I just get a fork. [He returns from the restaurant with the plastic utensils] Also Me: Thank you and I will NOT be coming back here again! In a time when small businesses are enduring record low sales, I have been trying to patronize them more often than I ever would. So now is not the time to be nasty to the few customers that they have. I understand we are all frustrated right now but we have to do BETTER. P.S. Yen's - Just to be clear, there are at least 15 OTHER Asian cuisine restaurants in Ashburn, VA !!! Get it together! read more

Yen's was my favorite for Chinese food for several years, even taking friends and family for the "best Chinese food" around. The guy they have running the front of the house has ruined their business in my opinion. While picking up food I have seen him just set the phone down and leave people for over 10 minutes, I am never given accurate times for my orders so I come from sterling to pick up and have to wait another 15-20 minutes. Straw that broke the camels back was tonight when I called to get curbside and the guy told me it was gonna be another 15-20 minutes and while expressing my frustration he hung up on me. I will find another restaurant that wants to treat me like my business matters to them. read more

Lol. I'm sorry, but this place ... maybe the ingredients are fresh, but the flavor of everything I ordered (6 items) was bland, not like the usual Americanized Chinese food we eat... like its all missing something and we were left very dissatisfied and disappointed. Maybe it's fine with others, but not with me, my friends and my family. Sorry - I hate giving such a low rating but if you're going to represent Chinese food, I need to rate accordingly. read more

If you want authentic Chinese/Taiwanese food in Nova this is a great place to go. Waitresses and Mgr are all very friendly with courteous, quick service. Very clean restaurant as well which is a big plus. Ordered the spicy fish fillet, dry bean curd with beef, and Genl Tso's for the kids. All very good. Also had the Hot & Sour soup which was one of the best I've had. Can't wait to go back with friends and family to try the other authentic dishes! What a great find in Ashburn of all places. read more

My wife and I were in the area for the first time and decided to give this restaurant a try due to the good reviews. Immediately, the service was horrendous. We were the only ones waiting to be seated and there were only two tables occupied, yet we waited 5 minutes to be seated. Once we were seated, other patrons came in and were served first before us. Mind you, we were starving; especially my 36 week pregnant wife. After we spoke up, the servers continued to go about their business without a single care to our needs. Worst service we have had in a long while. I would not recommend eating here at all. It's unfortunate we have to give it a 1-Star. read more