This is a great place to eat, right off one of the major roadways of San Francisco on 19th Avenue and Taraval. Though this place has been around for awhile, I can say they've come a long way. I still remember their place before they remodeled it to the way it currently looks. Besides opening late (I believe 2 AM), S & E Café foods' can definitely satisfy one's appetite quite well. In addition to being flavorful, their portions are more than average. Depending on how much you can eat, you can have some leftovers, though it may not be a complete meal; more so, a snack. What I also like is the presentation of the food. Very often I order the club sandwich. The way they cut and place their meats, lettuce, and everything good in between usually stay together after I take a bite. It's not sloppy at all. The service here is quite good. There's one particular waiter that seems very aware of customer needs (i.e., automatically refilling tea without being asked) and always smiling when taking down your order. Although this is a cash only place, there are plenty of ATMs around the neighborhood (and even one right next to this place). Seating capacity is slightly below average, but it is very presentable. Other than that, I always find myself frequenting this place often. read more

I ate here for a late night dinner. The waitress was well rounded. She did a great job! The food was so good. I ordered a baked spaghetti with pork chop. It was worth getting because it was only 10 dollars for a large serving. I recommend this place to anyone who is craving Chinese food read more

S & E Cafe - This was so worth it for only 10 dollars!! It got me so bloated. - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

We've been coming here for years and we keep coming back regularly. Definitely highly recommended! The food is always fresh and delicious. The service is very nice. I don't usually take time to write reviews but i was shocked to see these 1 star ratings. We've been here so many times. This is a very nice and friendly restaurant and we've never had an unpleasant experience. If you give it a try you won't be disappointed! read more

Topping was good - rice is broken and old. Pork was grilled on stale oil. Cheap though. read more

Decent hk htyle food. Their noodles taste very good even without any sauce from the chicken steak. Chicken wings were crispy and ddelicious. However Milk Tea was too dark because they brewed it for the whole day and was too cheap to change the leaves even once. read more

I give them an extra star for being open late during a weeknight besides Seniore's Pizza & having a nice clean setting. ANyhow, after a long play at sfsu, my pals and I were starving and we wanted something mom and pop yet filling sans breaking the bank. I had the tofu with white gravy over lightly sauted white rice and scrambled egg. The meal included a warm dinner roll with butter, corn & egg drop soup, HK tea and a dessert of jello. With tip, I paid $15. I did go a bit further than my expectations, but I had a to go box for the next day's lunch. In addition the food comes fast and well presented. THis place doesn't do spicy chinese food nor the type of Chinese food that Mandarin Speaker enjoy.( Despite not speaking Mandarin, Its in my genes to like spicy food.) I had to ask for sriracha. read more

This is my second time come to here for my dinner with my family I order a macau cutlet prok chops with pasta. I said i very like to be here for dinner . And the waitress give me to try the corn soup. That s for free. Thank her so much. read more

Prolly the best of the Taraval St HK style cafes, (cha chang ten.) in terms of portion size, price, quality and customer service, as every table full at dinner time attests to. Feeling the pressure from newcomer Smile House Cafe down the street, and T-28 further down, these folks, always consistently good through the years, have decided to really "ramp it up" and COMPETE, (a good sign, I'm always impressed when I see businesses doing that. It means they are smart, are paying attention, and value their customer base's loyalty.) So in the competitive environment of the Taraval St HK Cafes, S&E has made a conscious decision to compete.....and the result is that they WIN, hands down! Just finished their spectacular "Portuguese Chicken" with spaghetti. Giant sized and Yum-O!! Great value and definitely worth the money. Be hungry when you order this, and you will be full, guaranteed! POSTSCRIPT: Except for offering Winnie and I "jello" for the complimentary dessert (offered to all customers at the end of their dinner meal,) while offering all Chinese customers "sweet potato dessert," the dinner was perfect. (Yo! Ma! Do I look like "jello" to you? Dang dawg, why you wanna be so prejudice? Lol. Haha. Jk. But n e way, Winnie, overhearing them offer that to all the Chinese tables around us, and not the "jello," told the waitress that we would prefer the sweet potato one, and she did bring it to us.) Point being, they do offer dessert to everyone! (unlike some Cantonese restaurants that offer it only to their Chinese customers, something I have experienced countless times both here in SF and in the East Bay, see my review for "Kirin.") even if they do their version of "racial profiling," when they do. Haha. All in all though, a good place to go for a quick, good, filling, casual dinner after work. But man, that dang Portuguese chicken, can't get my mind offa that....:) read more

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Hum, what shall I say about the first restaurant delivery that pissed me off enough to write my first ever review on the internet? Let's be fair, your food is alright, for the most part it's what I expect for the price. But. Your. Delivery. Person.............................................................. rude beyond reproach. First of all refusing to deliver to a person's door in an apartment building.... is a half-assed delivery at best. To mutter under your breath audibly in Cantonese insults during the call is not appropriate either. It shouldn't matter if I speak Chinese or not (I do, thus the rage), but to go outright and call someone you deliver to a "cripple", *somehow* angered me enough to confront him about his F*cking behavior that night. If you want mediocre food at a relatively low price and are actively looking for a unbelievably bad, rude, overall sh*tty delivery experience, I suppose you can give them a call. read more

Typical HK Style cafe with a bunch of random dishes thrown in the menu. Comparable to ABC, Cafe Bakery, D&A, and T28. This cafe is clean, very clean. A few wall mounted plasma TV's, accent painted walls, and bamboo decor. I ordered the S&E Special Porridge with chicken, fish, and scallops. The porridge was rather bland and lacked any flavor. I had to use soy sauce and pepper to enjoy it. Nothing spectacular, just cheap and fast. read more

a-ok. my singapore noodles met my expectations (better at lim3 tr33 though, mmm!) clean shop, with 3-4 vizios on cbs news. square shaped toilet, now i've never seen this before. no, i didnt take a deuce, but i imagine it'd be like sitting in my chair now and going... read more

This is a very nice restaurant, the service is nice and there is this one guy that works here always cheerful and making sure that when i go here i get good service and even remembers my name. I think his name is Simon, Anyways if u are looking for a good after work dinner place this is it:) read more

This is a pretty decent cafe and the portions are really big and are definitely worth the price. However the majority of the dishes are on the blander side and need a little more flavor and seasoning. The service was very fast and easy to get their attention, and cafe is very clean and modern looking. read more

Great place to come for a late dinner. Always been a good experience each time I come. Though there was one time I ordered the salmon avocado sandwich and only later noticed there wasn't any avocado. Other than that, I've had no problems there. Food is good, inexpensive, and comes in big portions. The baked pork chop with spaghetti in Portuguese sauce seems to be popular, and I can vouch for that. Service is very good. They are attentive and courteous. The waitresses are very sweet. The dude with the glasses, who appears to be the manager or something of the sort, is always energetic and hospitable. This place meets all my needs of a good restaurant. :) read more

The food has really gone downhill .. it seem like ever since the place was redecorated , the food got worse . The curry beef chow fun ( my favorite dish ) no longer tastes as good as it used to . It's not as flavorful ): The chicken wings are good though .. I like how they're fun-sized haha ! The radish cake is okay . read more

Love this place, took my friends here and they also feel in love with their food. I always get the hong Kong style chicken with cream sauce and pastA. It's one of the best place to eat in sf. read more

I like this place cause it's open pretty late and I have an affinity for oven baked entrees. All I ever order here is either the oven baked fish with white sauce or the oven baked beef with white sauce. Both are pretty good, as well as some of the other dishes my friends have ordered so I can say this place is well worth visiting. They also serve hot Coca Cola with lemon which is interesting. The only think I hate is the location (19th and Taraval) because of parking. read more

My favorite cafe thus far. I didn't believe it when people said their milk tea was strong, but g'damn I found out the next day my friends were rolling around in bed all night too. Speaking of the milk tea though, it's smooth and not too sweet. Did I mention it was super strong? I love that they serve dinner rolls, soup, a drink and dessert with your meal. Gonna try to come back and try out everything so long my wallet permits! Definitely a happy customer. read more

The food is pretty good. I order salt and pepper chicken wings and fried fish balls. Those are really good. I definitely will return here. Hope I can try some good new stuff. read more

S & E Cafe - Chinese Near Me - San Francisco, California

This place actually isn't bad if you want a HK style type food. I've been here a couple and the food is decent, nothing special but decent. A word of advice, order the HK style cuisine and you'll be ok. I have tried their other stuff like fry noodle and it was uh ... a bad MISS. Don't suggest you try anything on the wall too like their "specials". Was here for Valentine day dinner ... I know, I know.... it was late and we were tired from work and happen to be in the Sunset. $34 bucks for one order of the Valentine day special: 1 Salad (from Costco, saw the box in the kitchen) 1 So call Giant lobster tail (Tiny as hell .... also from costco) 1 Pumpkin soup with lobster meat (hardly any lobster in there) 1 Strip Steak (WTF ... they cut the steak strip in half ... one tiny piece...suspect from Costco also) 1 Tiny slice of so call fish fillet Other then that, ok place, read more

Prices haven't gone done or anything, but I've actually enjoyed my experiences here the last two visits. The food has been good but most of all, it just looks cleaner and feels cleaner than the other HK style cafes. They also have a pretty good kids menu, and the kids entree includes soup, dinner roll, drink and dessert (just like an adult entree). My son loves that he gets everything I get, because most times at other restaurants, he has to share with mom and dad. read more

I've been coming here for many years even after they changed owners and menus a few times. There Is never a mistake with my orders. But tonight. I ordered two baked HK style spaghetti with meat sauce to go. When I got home, I got one with the meat sauce and this other one with an orange sauce that was not sour like how it is usually. There must have been a mixed up when they were pouring the sauce.... The one I got just tasted like a garlic orange sauce. Makes me want to just pour some ketchup into it so it can be sour. It just tastes like it belonged with another type of dish... They shouldn't make two sauces so similar in ingredients and color. There will bound to be a mixed up..... read more

Thanks again Yelp for helping me find a good, affordable dinner spot near my friend's house. My friends and I needed to fuel up before going out. I liked their set menus because they add a dinner roll, rice or pasta and coffee or tea. I have not had good HK cafe style food since moving away from LA almost 6 years ago... yessh I am getting old. Anyway, their grilled pork chop with black pepper sauce (by request) was very good. Meat was moist, flavorful and just the right amount of grilled texture on the outside. What surprised me was the pasta. It looked like plain pasta but once the fork was in my mouth there was an explosion of garlic goodness gustatory pleasure. Now i need a cigarette! Yes, it was that good! The break up the meat and starches, they added steam veggies also marinated in garlicky goodness. I ordered the hot milk tea, which was perfect. Pricing for dinner is VERY reasonable, and the service is prompt, quick and friendly. I also appreciated their decor with the kitschy Chef Boyardee-like figurines holding the salt and pepper shakers. They even provided green jello drizzled with a bit of condensed milk on it, if you are into it. I shall return S&E Cafe.... read more

Ate dinner here the other night with a friend. I drive on 19th all the time, and I somehow seem to miss this place anyway. I ordered a steak for dinner. I wanted medium but it was still a little too bloody for me. The waitress... I had something to say about her, but now I can't remember. I guess that's what I get for not writing my reviews right away..... read more

After several tries with the new management, I found this place more affordable than before. Service can be a hit or miss depending if they are busy. The last visit, I had great service! I like how they continuously try to improve their food because when I first had their baked pork chop over rice, I was not impress; the sauce was too americanized for me. Then it was way too salty, and lastly it was good but could be better. Moreover, I would like to try their seafood puff soup, as it seemed to be on the menu again! Oh, they also offer specials on occasions such as mother's day, v-day, etc. P.S. their lemon ice tea is delicious. full of sugar but damnnnnnn so good! read more

Went with our good friends for a hearty lunch. Ordered the chicken wings, curry fishball, singapore rice sticks, pork chops, eggs ham and pork and snapper. Food portions were generous and flavorful. Prices are reasonable. You can see why there is a base of customers who return periodically. Comment service: even for a chinese restaurant, this was very poor. had to ask for tea 5 times. sought clarifications on the menu and the waitress responded with a smirk. do no go here if you want service. read more

This place has some delicious food, but their service and attitude can use some major improvement. Every once in awhile I get a hankering for their delicious crispy chicken wings and a sandwich but every time I break down and order delivery I am left a bit disappointed with how I am treated as a customer. I have ordered delivery from them about 10 times and this is what I have noticed: First, if you don't like mayonnaise (or are allergic!) don't get any of the sandwiches. They will not listen if you request no mayonnaise. One time we put "no mayonnaise on the sandwiches, please!" FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES in various places when we made the order online. In turn, they slathered that mayonnaise on perhaps a bit more than usual. Many of our dinners have been ruined because of this. Second, their fries are usually soggy and under cooked. Some people like that, and I have no qualms with shoving them in the oven for a short while but this defeats the purpose of "ordering out" in my opinion Third, the delivery person will without fail call you and make you come out to the street to get your food. Even with very specific instructions and a house that is not difficult to see from the street, they usually can't even park their car in front of my house and I have to wander the street looking for them. And they are often rude and unpleasant to interact with. read more

We had a late supper here after the Bay to Breakers run in the morning. We arrived at the restaurant at around 9:00 pm and the restaurant was pretty much full. Luckily we were able to get a table without having to wait. I ordered my favorite baked pork chop rice and my wife had their Special of the day which was grilled salmon and sole fillet with prawns. The baked pork chop rice was quite good and so was my wife's meal. The fish was moist and juicy, but could use a bit more seasoning. The prawns on the hand were cooked to perfection and were crisp and flavorful. I also had the coffee/tea combo (free refills). It was strong and good. Service was pleasant. I would come back again to try some of their other dishes. read more

It's alright here. Typical HK food place. I wouldn't suggest this place for actually eating, but more of a "sit-down-have-a-drink" place. However, I think that they changed (for the worse) over the years, because when they first opened, I remembered my dish being mMm Mmmm good! However, it could've also been the fact that I was young and anything new place that didn't taste like shit appealed to me. read more

The place does accommodate larger groups of people and is open late. The table is clean and service is great. They have an extensive list on their dessert menu. But most of them tasted really bland. I probably would not go back again unless it's for social gatherings. read more

nasty food. I had the curry, which no one can mess up, b/c they don't make it from scratch, it's just from those package powder kind that is pre-mixed and all you have to do is add water. They even messed this up. The instant noodle w/ spam is prob. easiest thing on earth to make, b/c god knows i can't cook but i can churn out a decent spam & egg instant noodle w/ a fried egg. The noodle tastes nasty and I will not go back. there are way too many of these restaurants in the city to deal w/ this one. read more

the location is horrible. right on 19th avenue (highway 1) tons of cars. also it was a hot breezy day. i wanted to sit in the back with my dad because i didn't want to sit near the door because outside is really dusty and thats where tons of people walk in. so i said i want to sit in the back cause there was like 4 tables open.. the waitress said no.. its reserved.. im like wtf? so i sat where she sat us. and i observed the next party of people and they asked how many were there and the waitress brought them to the back. FOOD was alright but the service was slow. read more

Whenever we are craving hongkong food, we stop by here because it is nearby. Their food is really not bad and their service is good. The employees are nice and friendly. I like that they give you bread and also a soup when you go. My favorite dish here is the porkchop over spaghetti. Some places serve the pork chop really hard and dry but S&E's pork chop is very juicy. Their chicken wings are also really good. Sometimes we buy food here and take half of it home as another meal because their portion sizes are good. read more

to get it out of the way, i'm not chinese. that said, i asked my chinese companions to order me something that the uninitiated would find at least somewhat appetizing. they did the best they could, getting me a pork-egg-corn-ricy thingy, with corn soup. maybe i'm just not used to it. the mix of flavors was just kind of off, compared to most pork-[insert 3 ingredients here]-amalgams that i have. i might as well have dumped fish sauce and horseradish on it to complete the culinary roundabout set before me. the corn soup was exactly as advertised: corn soup. it's like they got a can of corn niblets and put the can directly over the stove before putting it in the bowl. nothing special, no standout flavors, just corn. in starchy water. reminds me of old USF cafeteria food. again, not being chinese put me face to face with food that doesn't exactly come with the territory. my friends did the best they could, i did the best i could, and it just didn't work. on the flip side, i'd like any chinese person to try balut or dinuguan and see how they like it. some food just isn't for everyone. read more

I thought they had decent food. I ordered the baked pork chops with tomato sauce and it was good. the meal comes with a warm bun, soup, and a hot drink. All for $7.95. What a steal. The waitresses were great. They were courteous and asked us several times whether we wanted refils on the milk tea. I would back agin. read more

I only give this place a 3 because it is better and cleaner than ABC Cafe. I've been here maybe two or three times, but they were not as bad as ABC, like I stated before. They have the typical cafe food such as, ramen noodles, etc. Prices are decent, people are decent, but I think I remember them taking forever to make my ramen noodle. Pissed me off. read more

There is the old S & E Cafe and there is the new S & E Cafe and personally I LOVED the old one. I think it's been over a year since the menu has changed and over a couple months since they had their huge renovation. The place looks really nice now, but they cut down their menu a lot from what it was before. I guess I'm a bit bitter that they took out my old favorite dishes. Nowadays when I come in with my friends I take a long time debating about what I want to eat since I'm still not sure what's necessarily good there. But anyways, the food is decent, it's okay/cheap-priced, and it looks really nice. Oh yeah it's open really late which is good for late night diners. All in all pretty decent place but nothing too spectacular. read more

this place is a rip off. i ordered some typical HK cafe food which are span & egg macaroni soup, turnip cake with XO sauce and seafood cream soup souffle, each 3 food item failed in Quality and Quantities. The macaroni soup charges $7 is way over priced and felt nothing special to justify its higher than usual cost. The Turnip cake with X.O. sauce costs $4 is more like "turnip cake croutons" small pieces on a small dish.. the seafood cream soup souffle is so watery, it tasted like cream flavor hot water.. i felt insulted with the price they charged me. I really dont know how this restaurant can stay in business in a competitive HK cafe market in SF. My GF said this restaurant used to be really good.. i guess not any more.. so patrons beware!!! i wan to see this restaurant to be on an episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare.. but, can he fix a Chinese restaurant????? read more

oh how i miss their Hong Kong style baked pork chops over rice :) SOOO YUMMY! I used to live in san francisco, until this past year, he finally moved us out of that hell hole! when i lived there, that restaurant was one of my favorite hong kong style cafe's in the sunset. Especially the bake pork chop dish, that's the only plate I get every time I'm there. One time I changed up my order and got some curry dish. OMG that plate was way too spicy! Im not a big fan of that.. even tho, my family's from Hunan China, the Spicy capital. always get the pork chop plate over rice, i don't think i ever tried it with noodles, but i don't think it's as good. the texture is a pretty big factor in eating and the taste is of course, rite there next to it. the rice helps the pork chop and tomato/egg sauce hold together, so that everything is just all in one bite, SO delicious! i miss the place :) they should open one up down in san mateo! oh and they have killer sweet red bean soup dessert. i love cause it's sweet, and the fiance likes it a lot too. he always says.. if they're not serving that, he doesn't want dessert. :T read more

As I have come here practically once a week for the past few months, S&E Cafe has grown on me. The extremely nice waitresses and owners have consistently reserved table space for us, been accommodating to some of our broken Chinese, and have sometimes provided complimentary milk tea, soups, and desserts. A word of warning though: The milk tea is extremely potent. Two cups of the tea can keep me awake three hours longer than usual. read more