I love this place! It is right across the street from my office. Great when I forget to bring my lunch!

1818 Alcatraz Ave Berkeley, CA 94703 I had lunch here, and saw something I have never seen before in a restaurant. A female worker was clipping her fingernails at the front counter. This person needs to be re-trained in proper conduct in front of customers. This personal activity should be done before you start work, or go in the restroom and do it. I didn't see her wipe down the counter after she did it. When you clip your fingernails, the debris goes flying everywhere. Clipping your fingernails in public is unsanitary and impolite. I'm guessing most of these great reviews are takeout or delivery orders. If my order was takeout, I would probably be writing a 4-star review. The food was actually pretty good. I ordered Wor Won Ton Soup and Fried Prawns. The Won Ton Soup was very generous and seasoned just right. The fried prawns were lightly crisp, plump and juicy. The menu said 10, but I was served 11 prawns. This is an very old restaurant, and it badly needs a remodel or upgrade. It has some tables for dine-in customers. Service was okay. Ice water and hot tea are free. Street parking read more

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I've only come here for dinner but it seems like it's a mostly takeout place and I haven't had a hard to find seating. Every time I've been here it's been a steady stream of people picking up though. I usually get the salt and pepper wings over rice and the hot and sour soup. The soup does not come in a cup size which is truly my only complaint but I also can't pass it up so I have leftovers. Portion sizes are good. The plate comes with 7 wings and about a cup of cooked rice. The bowl of soup takes me about 3 meals to finish. read more

I don't usually write negative reviews but honesty might help this restaurant improve. We were traveling so we went to this restaurant for take out without knowing anything about it. A mistake! A positive was fresh veggies that were not over-cooked. The big negative was that each dish was absolutely tasteless; so much so that it was shocking. No bad taste. Just no taste at all. No spices. No sauces. Just coated with oil-something that even eliminated the natural taste of the veggies. Not a lot of oil but enough to coat the food. Broccoli coated in oil with no spices added is tasteless.These dishes had no flavor at all. None. The dishes taste exactly as you might expect given the pictures on this site--you can even see that they lack sauce. What you can't see from pics is that the problem isn't just lack of sauces. They apparently use no spices. The dishes are absolutely tasteless. It is as if someone with an Asian background with no experience cooking decided to open a Chinese restaurant cause they are Chinese and had experience cooking for their young kids. They obviously have no chief and they don't seem to have any spices. Even their soy sauce seems watered down and tasteless so drowning the dishes in packets of soy sauce (after finding them tasteless) still failed to add flavor. The next day we had excellent Chinese food closer to home-so it was not our taste buds that were at fault. They need to shop for some spices and find a chief. read more

I am pregnant so I don't know when I would feel like having certain foods and I have to have it right away. So I was glad to find Chen's Garden which is in a convenient location. They are fast and the dishes I ordered - Kung pao chicken and shrimp with green beans - are great. read more

The food is always consistent here and the woman that takes your order is super helpful. I would recommend them to anyone. This is one of my first go to spots for Chinese Food. read more

I have seen this place for years and have always wondered if it was tasty. The more I've thought about, I think this was the store my family used to get carryout. Decided to try it out! There's an online GrubHub menu, but it's not as complete as those pictured on Yelp. I did call to place my order with more details. BBQ Pork Wonton and Noodle Soup Salt & Pepper Fish BBQ Pork over Fried Rice Easy parking right in front is you dare in a yellow zone. A table bars you from entering the store. Solid Covid protocols. A nice lady is there with my order ready to bring home. Old school Cantonese is perfect comfort food. Def on my speed dial when I'm in North Oakland! read more

I was on my way to a show and spotted this place. Being hungry I stopped in. I asked for a recommendation and after asking what I liked, the friendly lady there recommended the chicken combo over rice. Made fresh, right away, I could hear it sizzling in the kitchen, it arrived in minutes, piping hot. It was delicious. Just the right amount of hot spice and seasoning, nice lean chicken cooked perfectly with mushrooms, carrots, green peppers, onions, and peanuts. Very ample portions here and reasonable prices. No fancy ambiance but really good food and service. read more

Chen’s Garden - Chicken combo which I devoured - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Whoa! They have fish maw soup! I'm not used to seeing these kinds of ingredients outside of Chinatowns. I was so happy! The salt and pepper tofu was perfect--crispy on the outside and blisteringly hot on the inside. It wasn't too salty, either. The green beans were crunchy and delicious. My kid couldn't get enough of the seafood and tofu soup, which had some of the wispy bits of egg like egg drop soup except, you know, not dyed yellow. Food was copious for the price. Looking forward to going back! read more

Not bad but not great! Certainly a lot better restaurants in the nearby area. I would give the food 3 stars but overall it gets 2 because of the poor ambiance. The restaurant gives you more of a takeout feel with having almost no decor. What is cool is the prices! Everyday they have a bluffer lunch special and for $10 you can walk out w/ 3 entree items over rice. read more

Chen’s Garden - Shrimp w/ Black Bean Sauce - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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We love this place so much. Their bbq pork is so authentic, the fried rice is delicious. Very highly recommend.

I was happy to drop by for some quick Chinese food. The reviews seemed happy enough. The staff was nice. But when the food arrived, the cutlery smelled like rotten food. It was so bad that I had to wash the spoon in the tea just so I could eat. The meat in the soup also smelled bad. The dumplings were super doughy and oily. I paid $20 for the meal but felt like I should have been paid to eat here. Not good. read more

I have been coming here since I can remember. The owners are always very accommodating and nice and the food is good as it gets. Love this place for take out when I'm craving some sweet and sour chicken or their mushroom chicken. Recommended read more

This is one of the best Chinese places to me. Usually when I'm here there isn't very many customers. Their vegetable fried rice is top notch. I like the location and it's easy to find parking. read more

I found out that Chen's garden is under new ownership. It's a sad day. The menu has changed, and the cooking has also changed. The salt and pepper pork chop that my husband goes out of his way to get, does not taste the same!! So disappointing! The veggie egg rolls are not the same taste treat that we are used to getting!! Sad, sad day... read more

I like it! I like passing by for a quick soup or combo meal. Nice folks. New chef is good too read more

Chen’s Garden - Painting by Meredith Steele - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

I've been coming to this place for five years or more. The original owners have sold this place. There are new cooks in new people working i've ordered from them just last night, and the food was utterly disgusting it was so bad I had to call and ask if there were new cooks !! I was disappointed with the news of the front desk clerk letting me know there are new owners in new cooks. The recipe is not the same. The food is definitely not the same, and it saddens me to know that the one good Oakland Chinese food spot will now fadeaway. if you've been going here for a long time don't go back . read more

Okay, so I was worried to find that there were new owners because I grew up here after reading the reviews and seeing new owners. I was so nervous I walked in, and they were putting things away. I asked whether I could still order, praying she would say yes. This petite lady looks at me and smiles, and states of course, go ahead. I had relief ‍ I looked at the menu, which was a lot, and I was unsure what to look at on the menu. She must have seen me because she directed me to what is what I was waiting for; she handed me my food and politely told me good night. I feel better because it seemed great, like a typical experience felt reminiscent. Then I got my food. I'm a nurse, so I ate in the car, of course, and when I tasted the first bite of black pepper chicken, baby, I could cry. Not only was it delicious, but it was hot, like fresh out of the skillet got to burn your mouth, not cold, not reheated hot. I was giddy with glee as I ate. I love the portions of food for $17.00 only con is I would like a little more veggies, but it's tasty. They were kind, and I'm coming back. That's all I can say. read more

Chen’s Garden - Black pepper chicken - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Best authentic chinese food I ordered some kung pao chicken it was immaculate 10/10 must try the service was amazing.

They literally only had four options, chow mein, broccoli with no beef and two other things this place is empty for a reason.

It's funny because I've been going here over 5 years now & have never posted a review. So yea....... This place is my favorite in anywhere I don't care if I'm in New York, my go2 is Chen's Garden. Love the service, the people & not-to-mention the food Been almost going on 10 years the quality control is perfected like McDonald's (but I don't eat there). read more

Friendly and Good customer service. Because of Covid you can't go inside so call ahead of time. I didn't like what options they had for the lunch specials that is only during the week around lunchtime. So when I spoke to the lady on the phone she let me order an entree I wanted. My favorite dish I ordered was shrimp with string beans that had fresh ginger and garlic. Their egg rolls are good too. read more

This place is not far from my sister's place. So we went by and ordered chow fun and some egg rolls. The food was pretty good. We ordered and it was ready in 10 mins. The egg rolls were tasty but just a little greasy. We'll be back for something quick and tasty. read more

Hole in the wall, owner/gal working behind counter was kind and attentive, offered utensils, sauces, etc. Food was ready for take out. Hot and Sour soup was good, standard fare, no frills. Main courses - Chinese Greens Fish had lots of good bok choy. Fish was ok, standard, could be a slightly better quality cut of fish in here which would vastly improve - I'd pay $1-2 more for better fish (note, it tasted fresh, texture was just a bit mushy.) Mixed vegetables was probably highlight, veggies fresh and plentiful variety. Temperature for all was great. Value was terrific. Will order again and try some other menu items. read more

I'm a little bias since I live down the street from this place but it truly is a great place to get some quick Chinese food. I was even in a Lyft once and as we passed by the driver told me how it was his favorite place to go for Chinese and that he'd drive all the way from across town to get it. The restaurant itself is a bit dated and hole in the wall-ish but the food is great. They've got big portions and at very reasonable prices. I'm never disappointed with my order and am amazed at how quick they are every time. The owners are very kind as well - one time I forgot to add water to my online order and she let me have it for free. Some of my favorites are the salt and pepper fish, chicken corn egg flower soup and mongolian beef. I'd definitely recommend everyone to give this place a try! read more

I'm so disappointed. Just ordered the salt and pepper pork chops which was always my go to. It used to be scrumptious, fried dry and excellent. It is now breaded, fatty, has a reddish color and has an odd smell. I came to yelp to figure out if it is a new cook and lo and behold, it is. Nice folks, but I will not be going back read more

Unless you love to projectile vomit, don't eat here. The food is all covered with the same brown gravey like sauce, over salted and they use veges found at the back of an old refrigerator. Their large portion is just more misery to endure. If you're a bulimic, you won't have to stick a finger down your throat. Your stomach will rebel and it will come back up on its own. Seriously, eat here at your own risk. Even the homeless cross the street so they can avoid this place... Arrrrrgggggghhhh. Urp. Blechhhhhhhhhh. Urp. read more

I was at a friend's house in Berkeley, craving some to-go Chinese food. We found this place on Yelp and decided to give it a try. ENVIRONMENT - 6/10 Rate Chen's Garden is located on the busy street of Adeline Ave. in the city of Berkeley. Street parking is very convenient. Walking into this restaurant, you could easily judge that this place is a family owned hole-in-the-wall. As I walked in, one of the staff was asleep on the front counter. I didn't want to be rude and wake him up, so I've waited for about 5 minutes until he woke up and glanced at me in shock. CHOW MEIN, GENERAL TSO CHICKEN, & MONGOLIAN BEEF - 6/10 Rate I always order Chow Mein at any Chinese restaurant. Overall, the chow mein was slightly greasy, but adequate. Nothing very impressive, but not bad either We added in the Mongolian Beef and General Tso Chicken. It was also decent. Again, greasy. Colors were presentable and great portioned amount. Flavors were there, but not too saturated. CONCLUSION Overall, this place is just okay. Nothing to brag about. Their foods are decent. I'll definitely come back if I'm ever in the area again. I recommend the local community to stop by this place and give it a try. Keep in mind that the setting of the restaurant is not too appealing. I wouldn't take my date here or anything. Although, the place is perfect for to-go. - Alan read more

Very friendly owner. She was so nice. I got Mongolian beef with rice and was sooo good. And big portion just for one person! Affordable, nice location to pick up the food. Highly recommend!! read more

I'll admit I haven't been to Chen's since covid lockdown hit (I had a craving one night but they had already closed). This is a solid local Chinese food option and great to support a local business. Great fried chicken and pork chops! read more

My favorite chinese restaurant. I have been a loyal customer for years now. They even know what I want as soon as I come thru the door. And very respectable people. read more

Salt & Pepper Fish and House Chow Mein were Establishment was clean, food was fresh & service was pleasant. We will return. read more

Chen’s Garden - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

The store front isn't a tinsel, glitzy, sparkling piece of eye candy. It is a plain and simple neighborhood store front; that houses a delicious array of choices. We have ordered our favorite Chinese foods and great meals for many years - four generations now. It's a family favorite. Food is always well prepared, hot, delicious and ready for pick up or delivery in a very reasonable time. Some family favorites: Hong Kong Chow Mein-pan fried, house specials fried rice, chow mein, salt and pepper fish, pork chops, garlic eggplant, fried green beans, mongolian beef, broccoli beef, any of the chicken dishes, dumplings, fried chicken wings, soups: hot and sour, westlake beef, wor wonton, or sizzling rice. It's always tough to limit choices for the orders we place. So we usually order planning for two hefty meals from the order. The food is always great as left overs, too. Chen's also offers choices from a lunch special steam table daily. Quick stop for a delicious ready and prepared to go options. Great meals, great options available. A consistently delicious meal. read more

I live about a 5 minute walk away from Chen's Garden. My wife and I, along with our baby decided to make a trek down the street for some Americanized-Chinese food. We stepped inside for dinner on a Friday night and it was desolate. The only people at the tables were the owners/workers, which was fine by me, as we brought the baby and are always hesitant to to go out to eat with a 10 month old baby (We're kinda of like the dine and dash couple). With nobody in the restaurant I wouldn't have to worry about disturbing other diners which was a big plus for family friendliness. Chen's Garden is a small and unpretentious restaurant located on Alcatraz Ave. between Shattuck Ave. and MLK. The interior in not fancy at all and in fact is the exact opposite of fancy, it's a little dingy. I'm all about hole-in-the-wall Chinese food and this place was the joint for me. They make up for their lack of ambiance with tasty Chinese food, large portions and great prices. There are tables for small and larger parties so feel free to come alone, or with friends or family. We started off with the soup since it was a chilly walk to Chen's Garden. We wound up ordering the wonton soup ($5.25). Our meal began with this lovely soup. The waitress was friendly and came with a large bowl of wontons in broth and smaller bowls for sharing. The broth was dark, flavorful and had meat filled wontons that floated by each other like two ships passing in the night. The soup was warm, comforting and a great dish to start any meal or for a brisk Bay Area evening. As mentioned-above, the food is American Style Chinese food. We ordered the Mu-Shu Chicken ($6.50) which I thought was absolutely fantastic and highly recommend. I took a bite of the Mu-Shu chicken and thought I was making Mu-Shu love like in the movie Rush Hour. The Mu-Shu Chicken comes with a stir-fried chicken, cabbage, mushrooms, and other veggies, truly a delight. It also comes with hoisen sauce and rice paper wrappers that are similar to tortillas. I asked for some hot mustard and siracha to give it some spiciness and kick. I give this dish a solid 5 stars and a kung fu kick for deliciousness. Another dish that we ordered is a Chinese food classic, BBQ pork fried rice ($5.50). This dish will compliment any other dishes ordered and goes great with the Mongolian Beef ($7.95) which was another dish that we ordered. The Mongolian Beef came in a yummy brown sauce, yellow and green onions and of course, beef. The beef was tender and the onions cooked perfectly and went well the fired rice. I actually mixed up the Mongolian Beef and the BBQ pork fried rice into an Asian style jambalaya of sweet and salty. I give both of these dishes 4.5 stars. We also had the General Tsao's Chicken ($6.95). This dish was good but not great. The sauce was a little too thick, but the portion size was like all the other dishes, huge. Like I said the General Tsao Chicken was good, but just needed a little spiciness or saltiness to get it over the hill. I wound up using the hot mustard sauce, soy sauce, and scooped up some of the sauce from the chicken and made a dipping sauce worthy of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to enjoy. I give the General Tsao's Chicken 3 stars. On a side note many people were walking in and ordering food to go. One of the popular items I heard ordered numerous times was the Shrimp Fried Rice. For as many people as I seen order it, I will definitely give it a try. They also have a tremendously inexpensive lunch special, so if your in the area for lunch, you will most definitely get bang for your buck and Chen's Garden. What they lack in ambiance is more than made up with giant portions, yummy food, and great prices. I forgot to mention that their pot stickers are also delish. If you're looking for good Chinese food and don't want to spend a lot of money then Chen's Garden is the place for you. read more

chens garden's menu is slightly cheaper than chinatown lunch special , 11-2, one item and rice/chow mein (4.5) eats: lunch special sweet & sour chicken w/ fried rice -rice actually edible, little aftertaste -chicken not heavily battered, edible, not that tasty. -steam table had 10ish choices foodnotes: -lunch a good deal, food slight msg aftertaste better than some scoop and eat places. -dine in option available, many tables... read more

Thomas' review will be more helpful than mine, but I thought I would add a few things. They are usually open late! Not THAT late, but when nothing else but liquor stores are open, I can count on this to feed me as I drag myself home after work. The fried rice was all right. The cha siu was all right too, but I've had better. Probably would get something else next time. Had some veggies that were tasty. However, they are cheap and very nice. VERY nice! You even get to watch the evening news in Chinese as you wait for your order. I enjoy that. read more

We are such Chen's fanatics that both our beta fish and internet network are named after this restaurant. We first met Chen's when we moved to the bay area, an lived basically across the street. This restaurant is family owned by a sweet couple and their teenaged daughter. It is truly a neighborhood restaurant where you are witness to the local flavor. While the restaurant itself is not high and mighty, they do take out as well. This is greasy, delicious, classic american Chinese food. Its super yummy and you may regret eating too much; but it hits the spot. I've tried other restaurants and immediately regretted my decision. read more

Ordered chicken chow mein and didn't care for it. It was greasy and their was a flavor we just didn't like. Maybe too much oyster save because the noodles were pretty dark in color. Their vegetable fried rice was ok. Lots of veggies but nothing spectacular. read more

First attempt at takeout Chinese in the Bay Area and failed. Food was not hot, and the lunch special ($6.75 + tax) was more rice than meat. Won't go back here again, and will need a new place to restore my faith in Chinese food out here. I did appreciate they let you try the meat out first to see if you like it, though, if there's one takeaway. read more

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