Stopped by this spot on a whim and decided to randomly try a new Chinese place--and wow, this one really hit the spot. Everything was so good. The service was excellent from the moment I walked in; the gentleman who greeted me was incredibly kind, welcoming, and genuinely friendly. The food was delicious, and I absolutely loved the Singaporean noodles. They also have so many options that you don't typically find at other Chinese restaurants, which was a nice surprise. Service was quick, portions were great, and I really appreciated that they use recyclable containers. There's also plenty of parking and lots of room inside, which makes it an easy, stress-free stop. Overall, just a really solid experience with great food and great service. I'll definitely be back. read more

See all

Cafe Opera is an Ashburn, Va. favorite of ours for dining in and carrying out. The owners are genuinely attentive and kind and the menu is extensive. One of the best selections of vegetarian options in town! read more

Food excellent, owners attentive, service great. I had beef and broccoli with fried rice. My companion had a dish with shrimp. Shrimp were big and plentiful. I have a new favorite restaurant! read more

Dined in on a random weeknight and the staff/service was very accommodating. Dare I say, the best Chinese food in VA next to Peking Gourmet Inn but half the cost -- this place should be rated higher! Get the Crispy Beef ($20) where it's 2X at Peking Gourmet ($55). read more

Great service and food. Atmosphere very welcoming. Food is reasonably priced and the portions are filling.

New Lunch Spot We are always looking for new places to eat in my office So today we stumbled upon this hidden Gem Ordering was easy and the gentleman I spoke with was very pleasant There is a variety of things to order on the lunch menu Nice potions, cooked to order I want to actually go back for dinner... I like the ambience and restaurant is clean read more

We ordered takeout from this place on Valentine night to avoid crowds. Food was solid and flavorful. Triple delight entree was packed with 3 different proteins,everyone was cooked properly.Prices are on the high side for typical Chinese takeout,but food quality is good and I don't mind trying out this place sometime soon. read more

A variety of delicious food to choose from. The employees are genuinely nice people and very kind and personable. The opera they project on the wall is very entertaining. This is more than a place to get a good meal, it is an experience far more enjoyable than most restaurants offer. Did I mention how amazing the food is? I highly recommend this hidden gem read more

If you're looking for delicious food, great service and a welcoming happy atmosphere, this is the place to go!! On our first visit we were greeted with big smiles and a wonderfully warm environment. The food was delicious and per our server's recommendation we tried 3 different dishes. (Szechuan beef, shrimp in hot garlic sauce, and the tidbit sampler) everything was cooked perfectly and all made from scratch. Thank you to the staff for such a lovely experience; we will be back very soon!! read more

Cafe Opera Asian Cuisine - Asian Fusion Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

See all

Great Chinese. Have returned frequently. Sesame chicken is amazing. Always friendly customer service

Always a tasty meal. They offer a lunch discount for teachers. Portions are food sized.

This tiny place in a small strip center in Ashburn is one of, if not, the BEST Asian cuisine restaurants I have ever been to. I've traveled all over the world for work and have had a wide variety of different Asian cuisines in different Asian countries that didn't measure up to what I had here. I think they do a thriving carryout business and are beloved by the local neighborhood as they've been in business for quite a while but, they're a little different when dining in and I found that to be part of their charm - and there is plenty of charm in this quaint and welcoming family owned, wonderful little restaurant and neighborhood jewel. I've never ordered carryout or delivery from here and think you're missing out on a great experience if that's all you ever done. Now, about their food: Their food is meticulously prepared - Every slice of a vegetable is finely sliced and flavorful while maintaining a crisp texture at the peak of freshness. Their sauces are homemade and not the salty MSG laden stuff many places get out of a jar. They're delicate and healthy sauces that compliment the other flavors at play, not dominate so that you taste all of the flavors at play so that their dishes fittingly create a culinary symphony themselves. If you like your food hot, they can prepare it to your desired heat level - and they will ask you... they actually make their own hot pepper chili oil using fresh chilies! Every slice of meat is top quality - not frozen freezer burnt garbage cuts that are predominately gristle or fat..but tender, lean slices of top quality cuts... Their orange chicken uses freshly lightly grated orange peel and is lightly battered and fried so that it looks like it's out of a culinary magazine - not oozing greasy oil like so many other places. Their spring rolls are filled with fresh crisp veggies and taste amazing They're not sodden with grease like so many others who use previously frozen, and are now reduced to nothing but soggy, greasy cabbage rolls. Theirs actually taste wonderful but watch out for their home made hot mustard!!! It'll clear out your sinuses for sure. I honestly feel their cuisine, their preparation, and presentation when you dine-in is world class (and I've been places that were supposed to be excellent in Asian countries that weren't even close to this place).. If you dine-in, expect to be pampered by the proprietor and entertained with show tunes and operas on their wall mounted flat screens which is definitely unique - and something I find endearing and very charming. This place obviously loves what they do and it is apparent in every bite you take.... Cafe Opera is a rare find indeed!! Treat yourself to a world class experience. read more

Fresh Chinese food thoughtfully prepared. It was the best General Tso's chicken I've ever eaten. The General would have been proud. Large chunks of fresh white meat chicken in a tangy and delightful sauce, combined with rice excellence. Nice. Outstanding customer service by the owner. read more

The staff was very friendly upon picking up my food order. Also, I was pretty surprised at how good the chicken pad Thai was compared to others in the general area. The steamed dumplings weren't bad but I felt like the filling needed more flavor as they seemed a bit bland. The asparagus wasn't what I was expecting, it was kind of just basic cooked asparagus that was cut up and I was expecting more like Chinese Asparagus with sauce and sesame. I was also hoping they had summer rolls but I didn't see any on the online menu. All that with a drink was just over $32. I would definitely come here again and try some other things on the menu. read more

I enjoyed their service they were really on the spot and there meals were awesome. I especially liked there Hot and Sour Soup as well as their spring rolls in homemade duck sauce, and their General Tso's Chicken was super read more

This is hands down the best Chinese food I have ever had. If you have the time, do yourself a favor and dine in. I know that Chinese food is mainly a carry out dish, but having that food brought to your table right from the kitchen is incredible. Just an overall great place for the food and the service. read more

Over salted miso, under seasoned potstickers, chewy overcooked chicken.... Sorry to say I would never go here again

Super friendly people and fresh delicious food! I don't even like opera but I like the music too.

This, at first glance, seems a traditional Asian storefront restaurant. GLANCE AGAIN! Their sauces are made in house with a deft touch. For example the sweet side of the spring roll sauce duo has a gentle earthy spice livening up your spring roll. If you show up with any frequency, Teen will remember your preferences and sooner or later your name. Service is excellent. The kitchen just does not miss. Vegetables are lovely crisp/tender just as you wanted them, even if you didn't know that before they arrived. They will fine tune the spice level with remarkable accuracy. Distinctive food, graceful service, and lovely classical background music. GO. NOW. read more

Delicious Asian food! I am a bit health conscious so it was nice that the food was not overly fried, extremely oily or extra breaded. The food quality and tastes was great. The owners are really nice as well read more

Fav Chinese food in Ashburn. We loved the general tso's chicken and the triple delight chicken. Excellent service. Very friendly. Will order from there again. read more

Amazing! Food was phenomenal. We had the pineapple chicken fried rice, sesame chicken, and beef and black pepper sauce. The black pepper sauce is now a favorite. The restaurant itself was cute and clean. The staff was warm and welcoming. We will definitely return. Thank you for a wonderful evening! read more

I've been looking for a new Chinese restaurant since we've moved back to Ashburn. I found this restaurant on Google when searching Best Chinese restaurants near me. The Google rating was 4.4 however I believe it's more like 3.5. The restaurant has a nice decor and the owners of the restaurant were very friendly and professional. I placed my order to go so next time I will have to try the dine in experience. I ordered the lunch special Kung pao chicken w/ extra peanuts. The lunch special price was $7.50 and add $.50 for the extra peanuts so $8. Here's what I noticed with this dish: Typically lunch specials come with an egg roll/spring roll, this did not just the meal. This dish has a lot of fillers (carrots, celery, water chestnuts) which took away from the chicken and extra peanuts that I paid extra for. The steamed dumplings were small and the flavor wasn't as good as other restaurants. Also, the dipping sauce wasn't as good as I had hoped. For $6.50 it wasn't a good value in my opinion. The vegetable spring roll w/ the house mustard were very good. There was an extra charge for the house mustard $1 and no charge for chili sauce. Overall, this restaurant is worth a second try I'll just have to try something new next time. I will certainly update my rating on the second visit. Big thank you to the owners, see you soon. read more

See all

Hands down - the freshest Chinese food around. Have never had a bad meal here, everything is delicious. The staff are very nice and the pride in their restaurant and meals shows it. read more

Excellent sit-down service and definitely one of the best Chinese food so far in Ashburn. The Chicken General Tao's was not your typical overly breaded, take out style dish. Much more meat and crisper taste! Steamed veggies were excellent, and the House fried rice was just right! If there's no time for dining in, it's definitely worth considering for take out or delivery over other Chinese food in the Ashburn area! read more

The food was amazing quality and great flavors. I never order Chinese food as I find it to be too greasy and salty and it always makes me feel sick. I read an article about the restaurant owners, however, and their care of how the make their food and thought I'd give it a go. I was really impressed! Everything was great and I did not feel at all sick afterwards. Highly recommend and will be ordering again soon! read more

Very clean and quiet with excellent service! Food was good, although I was a bit surprised that my crispy pan fried noodles with shrimp were served in this way, but it was still very tasty, and the service was impeccable which is the reason for the 4 stars! We had the fried calamari appetizer, pan fried noodles with shrimp, and a chow mein noodle dish. Any extra sauces we wanted with anything from the chili oil to the extra thickened soy sauce we were served promptly. The waitress was super attentive. Everything was delicious and the fried calamari came in little strips with a very light batter and served with a sweet chili sauce which paired perfectly with it. One comment on the pan fried noodles with shrimp dish I ordered. While it was very good, I was surprised that the crispy noodles were served in a separate dish from the shrimp and veggies, and that the shrimp and veggies were served in a dark thick soy sauce blend with broccoli. Perhaps this is a different style though (Szechuan vs Cantonese?). Back home in San Francisco when I order this same dish the shrimp is always cooked in a thickened beige seafood stock with snow peas and baby bock choy. The piping hot mixture is then poured over the top of the pan fried noodles just before serving. This results in the noodles in the center becoming a bit soggy, while the edges remain crispy. The best of both worlds. However, I can totally understand why this dish is served on two separate plates here as some might not appreciate if their crispy noodles become soggy before they are consumed. If I come back to town I will definitely come back here as it seems that they would completely accommodate a request of serving the sauce over the noodles and possibly using a seafood stock sauce with the shrimp instead of the soy based stock sauce. Again it was delicious as served so this is just a personal preference on my part. For completely customizable experience and amazing service do your taste buds a favor and come enjoy the dine in experience with the opera music. I just loved this place! read more

Really good customer service and food was nice and light and fresh, not the typical heavy type. I'll definitely come back to try other items read more

Terrible food. Sweet and sour chicken tasted leftover or frozen. Lo mein was so-so and the fried rice was just bad.

Quality food @ good prices, nice & quiet atmosphere, great hosts. Love their Thai dishes!

Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant....the food was fantastic and the owner/host is a delight!

The sweet pork appetizer was fit to use to make shoes. The chicken and vegetables was tasteless; the egg drop soup was odd tasting. The eggplant in garlic sauce was fair at best. There must be a decent Chinese restaurant in Ashburn. We are still looking. read more

Ordered food from here before thought it was okay, but ordered orange chicken (not orange chicken, has thick slimy sauce that looks like some store bought vinegar based orange sauce that didnt work with their chicken- chicken was not crispy either), and crispy beef noodle was fishy in taste and slightly soggy. Waste of $50+, literally never thrown whole bag of food in trash but this had to go. The only thing that tasted ok was white rice, fried rice, and the spring rolls. Very let down from my last order here read more

This is my girls and my favorite!! Best pan friend noodles and shrimp and egg rolls in all of the DC area! Just wish they was open a lil later but thats ok still gotta get me some Opera at least once a week read more

I can't say anything bad about this place, which as someone who really doesn't eat a lot of Asian cuisine outside of sushi, is a big thing. I ordered take out for my father and I and while it was a bit pricey, the quality was there. They have all the classics and many unique variations on popular dishes as well. Their sesame chicken was well made, with large chunks of chicken that felt real and not completely processed. The pork fried rice was a hit and they included a lot of pork. Shrimp and vegetables were good and so were the veggie spring rolls. If I'm ever in the mood for Chinese I will definitely be going back here! read more

Our usual go to Chinese place was closed this evening so we tried Cafe Opera. That won't happen again. For $16 I would've liked me to be satiated by the food...but there wasn't much by way of volume of Mongolian Beef. My husband's Sweet n Sour chicken was overcooked and not at all tender. If you like super crunchy chicken then this is what you order. Lesson learned. read more

Cafe Opera Asian Cuisine - Mongolian Beef for $16. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

See all

**** 3 1/2 Stars **** ----------------------------------- The "Clipper" magazine that comes in the mail is what drew me to Cafe Opera. Not only were there coupons but a photo of a dish on their menu, Chili Chicken with Tomatoes, had me wanting to give this place a try. I got my husband on board after he saw their menu online. And then the adventure began! We don't venture into Ashburn too much and when we do, we don't go deep into the wilds (well, the "wilds" for us anyway). Google maps directions has one going up the Greenway to the Claiborne Parkway exit. My husband said that he wasn't going to pay the tolls just to go to a restaurant in Ashburn. So...he got alternate directions, which were cockamamie directions. How we managed to find the place, we'll never know. Go up Waxpool Road, route 625---but---the road sign says that it's route 640. It took some convincing to get my husband to try that route but, in the end, it was the way to go. We came across one shopping center---nope, not the right one. Then we continued on and saw Claiborne Parkway---do we go left or right? Go left, I said, all the while just guessing. We came upon a traffic light, the street sign said Waxpool Road. My husband slammed on the brakes and swung a right. A little ways up the road, there was the shopping center---TA DA! We found it. Or as my husband put it, we somehow stumbled across it! Now --- on to the dining experience...As other Yelpers pointed out, the dining room was small. We got there around 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday night and there was only one table occupied. The hostess/cashier told us to pick where we wanted to sit. Once we did that, we were given menus. The menu organization seemed to defy logic. There are categories such as "Chinese Cuisine", "Stir Fried Delicacies" and "South East Asian Cuisine". Thus, it took some searching to find the dish I wanted. From the "Clipper", we had a coupon for 2 free spring rolls, so, of course we ordered them Plus we each had a cup of Hot and Sour Soup. My husband had Shrimp in Hot Garlic Sauce. He could have sworn that he saw Chicken with Garlic Sauce on the online take-out menu. It was there but not on the dine-in menu, although I'm sure they would have made a plate for him had he asked. And, I, of course, had the Chili Chicken with tomatoes. To drink, I had a Thai Iced Tea. It was served in a way I hadn't seen before. Along with the glass of the tea, I was brought a small cruet. I asked the waiter what was in the cruet. He said that it was syrup for the tea. I actually liked this idea---that way one can sweeten the tea to one's liking. My husband had a bottle of Tsingtao beer. The Spring Rolls were good with a thin, crispy wrapping. The Hot and Sour soup was skimpy on the stock. It got spicier the closer we got to the bottom of the cup. The Chili Chicken, while good, could have been a lot better. It was clear that the sauce which looked like a peanut sauce but didn't taste like one, could have been blended a lot better. One spoonful had a spicy taste but the next one was sweet tasting. I can only imagine how good it would have been properly blended. The tomato pieces were so big that I had to use a knife to cut them. My husband liked his Shrimp dish. He said that he could taste the garlic plus some spice and he liked the vegetable blend which consisted of julienned pieces of celery, carrots, green peppers, red peppers and tree ear. He also was impressed with the size and portion size of the shrimp. The staff here is very nice. As we were eating, the dining room began to fill up. It's clear that many of the customers were regulars. Yet the staff treated us as well as the regulars---excellent customer service! The owner (manager?) took the time to speak to us and ask if we liked the food. She said that she hoped we would come back. Yes---we'll go back. However, what we didn't tell her is that it will be in the spring when there is more daylight so that we can better see where we're going LOL! read more

See all

Consistently great tasting food and personal service. Love to support this local small business.

First time in and had a great experience! First and foremost the customer service is excellent. Super friendly server, recommended some dishes and was very attentive. We got starter dumplings, a veggie curry dish and the hunan chicken, both a little milder on spice. Our server volunteered to bring a hotter sauce for the side which was perfect. We'll come again! read more

Opera music is played softly as you eat. The owners work the front of the house and greet everyone with a big smile. The menu is extensive and they have great lunch specials. If you work for LCPS they offer a discount if you don't select an already discounted special. The food is yummy and severed quickly. read more