First time trying Yen's cafe and was not disappointed! The staff and food were awesome! We got the Beef w/vegetables and chicken w/vegetables with pork fried rice! Fresh and delicious. Side note, probably the friendliest staff around! Felt right at home as soon as I walked in the door! read more

Amazing place! We had a chicken noodle soup that was really delicious and the Taiwanese fried chicken was awesome.

Food was tasty. We ordered 2 entrees, 1 appetizer and 1 side. Crispy sesame chicken was amazing! Definitely something to add to your order. We also ordered the beef lomein but the noodles were really overcooked, which gave them an unpleasant texture. Flavor was good though. Taiwanese pot stickers were good as well. Probably won't order them again but glad we tried them. One issue I found really bothersome was that 2 of our dishes were delivered unsealed/uncovered without affixed container lids. The chicken sauce leaked everywhere: all over the paper bag, over the additional containers, all over the plastic bag, which in turn made a big mess for us. This also meant that the chicken was super dry when reheated, which made for super unpleasant leftovers. That was a huge disappointment. Overall the food flavors were good but super disappointed with the packaging. What seemed like careless mistakes turned into borderline unsanitary conditions (car went from restaurant, outside to delivery car uncovered, into delivery car uncovered, and onto our porch uncovered). This was concerning to us & made food less appealing. Hopefully this was an oversight. read more

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I've reviewed Yen's before, but I'm talking with the owner I learned something worth updating. We love Yen's and probably eaten here 25 times. I'd put it's food on par with places I've eaten in NYC Chinatown- better actually. I love the mines pork and buns - the owner told us she only uses pork belly and this dish- all the dishes are made fresh to order- not premade and sitting around. She also said she shops for fresh vegetables every morning. Do yourself a favor and try Yen's. read more

We just had dinner at Yen's. I don't usually love Asian food, but this was wonderful. I'm a vegetarian, so there were good choices for me.

Another delicious home style meal from Yen's cafe. The quality of the ingredients leaves you feeling great. The staff is also super friendly. This place makes authentic Taiwanese food you can't find any where. read more

Yen's Cafe - B25. Beef with Green Long Chili - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

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Came here on a Saturday afternoon for the first time finally, after reading so many good reviews. It was almost full house and maybe because of that the service was slow. We ordered Taiwanese dumplings with pork and veggies, Chinese water spinach with garlic, and Salt and pepper crispy pork chop. Chinese water spinach with garlic was the only dish properly seasoned. The dumplings' stuffing (pork & veggies) did not have flavor, taste or saltiness, and the salt & pepper crispy pork chop did not taste like salt & pepper at all. They serve tea at cost. $6.25 for two people. The gratis dessert that was like a small ball shaped bread with custard inside was very good. read more

Great food, large portions, and good service for a reasonable price. Also ordered the pork dumplings which were amazing! read more

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Best Chinese food around. Not much competition in the area albeit. Owners are nice. All the traditional food was good. I ordered the crispy beef dish and the meat was really tough, don't recommend. Other than that every else was good like sesame chicken, beef snd broccoli, etc. competitive prices. read more

My favorite restaurant in Ashburn hands down. I've been coming here for about a decade now and it's always been an awesome choice for Taiwanese food. I've tried a variety of dishes and I can confidently say everything on the menu is SOLID. They also have an extensive tea menu that is delicious and reasonably priced! The tea is served in a cute tea set and you can take home the tea bags afterwards to enjoy! MUST TRY the Taiwanese fried chicken (yansu ji)! It is a delicious popcorn chicken with basil dish that is perfectly fried, not super heavy, and aromatic. read more

Yen's Cafe - V18. Black Bean Sauce with Tofu - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

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got lunch there and can say the food was great but the portions are small - half of what i usually get for a $10 lunch elsewhere. I strongly encourage Yen's to change this. read more

Ordered online carryout with estimate of ready in 30 minutes. A simple order; spring rolls, fried rice and vegan sesame chicken. Service: When arrived after 35 minutes, the order had not yet been given to the kitchen, causing a wait of another 35 minutes. Front of the house staff did not seem to care. Food: Spring rolls were not crispy (for me the number one requirement) but mushy. Pork in fried rice was very rubbery, so much so it was discarded. Vegan sesame chicken was ok. Did not eat in so cannot comment on ambiance. There is another restaurant with a similar name on Waxpool - much better. I recommend you try that one. read more

Came in on a Sunday for dine in at 5pm. The tables were empty but they had plenty of take out orders. We ordered four dishes to share between the two of us and the lady said it would take a while because they were busy. I appreciated the heads up. She gave us a couple of egg rolls while we waited and they were so tasty! I normally don't care for most veggie egg rolls, but they had a smooth crispy skin and they were delicious! Our favorite dish here might be the pipa tofu. I don't normally order tofu but I love this dish. It's got a good balance of veggie and protein with plenty of sauce. So good! We also tried seafood yaki udon (stir fried noodles). The shrimp in this were lightly crisp and very good. The happy family was good and had plenty of veggies. The only thing we didn't quite like was the salt and pepper pork chop. While the flavor was good, the pork texture was mealy. Next time I'd rather try the salt and pepper fish. We come here once in a while when I'm craving home cooked Chinese dishes to feed the soul. They boxed up our leftovers and even gave extra rice to take home. They also gave us a custard bun cut in half. It was lightly crispy on the outside and the perfect ending to our meal. Service is always amazing and they are so nice. I would take my Chinese mom here for sure. read more

Made the trip out from DC to Yen's Cafe, and couldn't have been happier with the decision. Yen's is worth a Silver Line trip! We split the potstickers, Mongolian beef, 3-cup chicken, and Yen's Special rice. Each dish was absolutely amazing, and I would have a difficult time venturing into their expansive menu next time simply because it would be hard to go without any of these dishes! On top of the food it was a lovely atmosphere and everyone was super friendly. Would highly recommend!! read more

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While in town for a training gig, I had a hankering for Chinese for dinner. I also had no desire to head out for the hotel (too much work, to little time: the business owner's life). I turned to Yelp (yay!) and found a number of Chinese restaurants that offer delivery. Among these I found Yen's Cafe in nearby Ashburn. I tried to order on Yen's own website, but got bounced to an outside webpage which sent me back to Yen's won webpage which sent me to the outside webpage... (From an old programmer's manual: "Endless Loop" in the index points to "Loop, Endless". IT joke!). But fortunately, Yelp links to GrubHub where I was able to complete my order. Promised delivery time: 50-60 minutes. While waiting, I looked at Yen's reviews in mode detail. One Yelper noted that white rice has to be specifically ordered. I was hungry, so I called Yen's directly. The manager reviewed my order (Minced Pork with Diced Green Beans), noted that it came with steam buns, and suggested I would not need the rice. I appreciated that no upselling was included! As a result, I took her at her word... ...and when the driver showed up less than 20 minutes after I ordered, I found that rice was definitely not needed. The buns were warm and soft, perfect wrappers for the slightly spicy pork. (Note to self: next time I'll order "extra spicy" because, well, I can!). Portion size was perfect for one person. Overall, the Yen's Cafe experience was top notch. Next time I get to town I will try to eat at the restaurant so I can personally thank the team. Great food, great service (including prompt and friendly driver), and great value. Highly recommended! read more

Best Taiwanese food in Ashburn, Va. their fried chicken dish is sublime along with all of their regular Taiwanese dishes. Whenever I crave Asian food, Yen's cafe always hits the spot. read more

Price is a bit on the high side. They are usually really busy, try to place order 40-45 mins in advance. Any of the noodle dishes are fine, beware of any sort of crispy fried beef dishes, beef is like jerky in those, too chewy. Definitely stay away from sesame beef- weirdest sweet crispy beef taste experience. read more

The food here is terrific and the service is great! I eat here regularly . They also have terrific juice drinks although they seem to be out of coconut milk for the several years! read more

My hubs raves about this place, but honestly I can take it or leave it. We stopped in the other night for take out. There was one other lady there that already placed an order and was waiting. Two or three other people came in for their call in orders while we were there. It's a pretty small place with very few tables and a small area for waiting near the bar. All 6 of the tables had a reserved sign on it. One family did come in to sit at one of the six tables for their meal. The waiting area is also near the exit which freezes you with cold air from outside every time the door opens and this was a really cold, windy night. After our order was placed, I went outside to wait in our warm car. There was a lady behind the bar on the phone taking a phone order. Once off the phone, she never acknowledged us and continued answering call after call. Eventually, someone came from the back to take our order, but she really didn't know the menu which is extensive. I asked for the shrimp appetizer which was unavailable that night. Eventually, a really nice gentleman came over and took our order and answered all my husband's questions. My husband ordered a few different dishes for the family. He loves the Taiwanese fried chicken. I ordered the meatballs with Napa cabbage. The meatballs and gravy was very flavorful, but there was hardly any cabbage. We also had the donuts which were also mediocre in my opinion because they weren't really sweet. The crust was crispy but the inner custard was just meh or blah. My experience could be improved by at least being acknowledged upon entering the establishment within a certain time frame. Could someone simply say, "Hi someone will be with you in a minute." How hard is that? read more

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Truly authentic Taiwanese restaurant. All of the sauces are clearly homemade and the food was super fresh. This place quickly turned into a staple in our takeout rotation! If you like any type of Asian cuisine but have never had Taiwanese food, you've gotta try this place. read more

Different tastes. Awesome flavors. Great hosts. Love the place. I really love the food here and recommend it to others! read more

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

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The food here is cooked fresh. Taste stays consistent(ly) good. I really like mom and pop shops with this quality. You try and let me know what you think, thanks... read more

We ordered The salt and pepper chicken and the Szechuan chicken, along with some sauteed broccoli. The star of the meal was the sauteed broccoli. It was lightly seasoned, and although it was a tad on the underdone side, even for a stir fry, it was a nice accompaniment to the heavier dishes. The salt and pepper chicken was good, but in hindsight it's a lot of fried food with not enough variety to make it interesting. It would work in a more family style meal with lots of other dishes to share. The real disappointment was the Szechuan chicken. This was inedible. The strips of chicken were so overdone as to be inedible, and each strip seemed to be almost exclusively batter, with little no chicken inside. It was terrible. They do package the food well for takeout. We will probably try it again but wouldn't order either of these dishes next time. read more

I think the food is at a good price but the quality is not really there and the portions they give you for the price are a bit low. I expected dinner portions for a dinner price, but instead got a lunch size platter at the dinner price. read more

Good food, fast service. Good portion size. We recommend that you try them out. Xxxxxxxxx read more

A Taiwanese cafe which is perhaps more of a restaurant than a cafe. It's difficult to decide whether to give Yens a 4 or a 5 star review. I think the prices are a tad high. However, the portions are on the generous side. Just about everything I've eaten here on my three visits has been tasty. Presentation is excellent. The dining area is small but I've not had to wait to be seated. The staff seems to speak fluent Mandarin and is a family run business. read more

Top dishes to order: 1. West Lake Beef Soup (for 2) 10.95 2. Young Chow Fried Rice 12.95, Yen's Special Rice 8.95, or Shrimp Fried Rice 8.95 3. Taiwanese Fried Chicken 15.95, Crispy Szechuan Beef 16.95 read more

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Great place, I can't get enough of the chicken dishes: General Tso's chicken Orange chicken Sesame chicken and all dishes who name includes "Yen's special ..." read more

Food was great. Nice for takeout. The ambience not so great. Music was more for the owners/staff. A bit too loud for me. Also, Kinda of cluttered for the takeout entities like grub hub. I'll be back for the yummy entrees though. read more

Every dish I have had at Yen's Cafe has been superb! From the 3 cups chicken with fresh basil and ginger , the pork with green beans and steamed buns, mu shu pork or beef, to salt and pepper shrimp, ALL were amazing. Everyone that I have referred has been just as pleased! This facility is small, but does a bang up carry out business. If one enjoys teas, this too has quite the selection. If Ashburn is your home, no other place compares to Yen's Cafe. Melissa read more

As a Taiwanese who regularly goes to Rockville for Taiwanese food, I didn't have a high expectation for a "Taiwanese joint" in Ashburn. But our friends kept raving about Yen's Cafe, so hubby and I finally gave this place a try. Since, we'd been back a few times. Like most Asian restaurants, they offer a wide variety of things, including some very authentic Taiwanese food, a fusion of dishes from parts of China, as well as some more Americanized choices. I don't love everything from here, but there are definitely some dishes that keep me going back for more. My personal favorites are the Taiwanese style fried chicken with basil (BEST I'd had so far - and dare I say I'd tried most, if not all, the fried taiwanese basil chicken there is in the DMV area) and taiwan style beef with chinese water spinach in sha-cha sauce. Fair warning - Some might find the sha-cha sauce a bit exotic and weird. My hubby thought it's an acquired taste, and it took him several tries before actually liking it. Also, note Yen's Cafe is different from Yen's Kitchen... I accidentally ordered from Yen's Kitchen one time thinking that it was Yen's Cafe. So, just double check before you order! read more

Came by to check out the restaurant while on my lunch break. The restaurant is not very big but looks cozy. I loved the jade statues that were near the entrance and checkout booth. The woman and possibly the owner greeted me and showed me where the take out menus were. I did not see them, because someone was standing in front of them. On my next lunch break on Sunday the 30th, I might order some food from here. Then I can grade on the tastes of the food. From just walking in and the hospitality I received this place is off to a great start. read more

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This little hidden gem is nestled in behind the Chipotle and Giant at the front of the plaza, and quite possibly the only people that know it exist are the folks that hit the new Fitness First right next door. Don't be fooled by the strip mall surroundings, this family owned restaurant is the real thing! My Chinese food authenticity pain scale is kind of like the medical pain scale that anyone in the medical profession is familiar with (y'know... "0 for absolutely no pain at all, 10 for the worst pain you've ever felt in your life): 0 -- Asian owner who greets you at the door, discusses the various traditional offerings available with you in Mandarin and laments with you about things that aren't on the menu because they would never end up being ordered by the general American populace. The business owner's 70+ year old mother-in-law is hanging out at the bar and hobbles outside to hand you a take-out menu when she sees you standing in front. 2 -- I don't know what the dish is called in the English language, and the only way I know that it's being served at the restaurant is because I've seen my parents order it, or because I confirm (in Mandarin) that said dish (which I don't know how to order in English) is offered. 5 -- Although there's "sweet and sour pork" and "sesame chicken" on the menu, the steamed rice is fresh and sticky, the staff understands me when I say "xie xie" and responds with "bu qe chi", and I can get away with speaking with the owner/manager directly as "lao ban" or "lao ban niang." 8 -- Asian fusion: I can get over this and enjoy myself. I just need to know what it is that I'm getting myself into so I can appropriately set my expectations for "this is not real Chinese food." 10 -- All of the dishes on the menu resemble something like General Tso's Chicken; if I have never ever heard the dish ordered in Chinese, I'm gonna have to go with "It's not really Chinese." This one? Case in point. Yen's (thusly named, because something like seven siblings in the family have the middle name Yen) Cafe is qualifies as a solid 0 on the Kevin's Chinese food authenticity pain scale. I walked in a stranger, and I walked out once as an acquaintance on a mission to respond to an EMS call, and walked out a second time (two hours later, after we dropped someone off at the hospital) an extended family member. For the adventurous diners unfamiliar with real Chinese food, try the dza jiang mian here. The owner's noodles are renowned in Taiwan. Make sure to ask for some chili oil to kick it up some. The serving size was enough for me to have half for dinner and half for breakfast the next morning. Interestingly, this is made with chicken instead of the traditional pork, and you can taste that it's lighter. Be sure to ask for a "Handsome Boy." Halfway through our meal (once we got back from the hospital, and our food was kindly reheated for us), the owner brought out these icky brown slushy things, at which point we asked what they were. Turns out, they're incredibly delectable and healthy fresh veggie/fruit juices. Ask for the story on why they're named such. It's a great tale! No sugar, no additives, just veggies and fruits, and in our case... some dried plum powder. Mmm. My ambulance crew is definitely coming back, on the promise of being treated to the owner's vaunted pudding for dessert! As always, bonus star awarded for supporting uniformed emergency response staff! read more

Yen's Cafe - Logo from yenscafe.com website - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

Yeah, this place took me some finding. My track record for decent food establishments in business complexes has been okay, though. Great reason to push my client meeting in Ashburn closer to midday. I question the point of having a dynamic "secret menu" that's readily offered to everyone. I get that you may not want to regularly stock ingredients for the less popular, more traditional dishes, but unless you're aiming for word-of-mouth hype, I feel like a whiteboard with daily specials would serve the same function. Semantics aside, their food has that rustic at-home feel to it. Interior is pretty basic, a smaller restaurant and bar style with clean bathroom and low-key decor. Origami cranes surrounding the Japan relief donation tub is a cute touch. Staff members are super nice, I didn't launch into Mandarin until after I'd heard them chatting amongst themselves for a bit, and they were friendly and polite at all times. They made sure that their leaving the door open for the breeze wasn't too chilly for me, and my glass of ice water rarely fell below half-full. I was disappointed to discover that the secret menu didn't have niu rou mian. They were quick to reassure me that the menu that day was offering beef hotpot with rice for two, which (paraphrasing into English) I could take the leftovers home, add water, noodles, and veg to make my own NRM. Sounds weird typing it out like that, as if they can't be bothered to do that themselves, but from an Asian standpoint, I appreciated it. And they were right. My food came out in good time, piping hot since they didn't remove the lid until tableside. The beef was a bit overcooked but the tendon was on the money, and the stew was definitely reduced to a level of saltiness that required the heavy garnish of cilantro and plenty of rice. Radish was a pleasantly neutral filler, though at home I probably would've opted for lotus root. Extra kudos for the pinch of black sesame seeds on the rice, both in bowl and in my takeout container. When I suddenly got called back to the office, they included an extra container of watery stock as per the earlier discussion, and a box of rice just in case. The seedless dou sa bao was acceptable in execution, and a lovely change of pace from an orange wedge cleanser. Props for bringing a good mix of Americanized and legit Chinese food to the suburban Caucasian professionals in the area. Had I continued my contractual role with those companies, I would've been happy to return to this dining establishment for a few more menu selections. read more

Yen's Cafe - Red bean bun post-meal treat. - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

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Bomb food. Great NYE hangover cure. Really, the best Chinese food I've had in quite some time. 2021 is already on an upward trend. Correction, **Taiwanese food. read more

Delicious food, incredible service, and tastes I can't get anywhere else. The shrimp is crackling, the sauce is plentiful, and the veggies are fresh and crisp. Everything is absolute perfection. Please never change read more

We had such a great experience at Yen's Cafe! They have attentive friendly service staff. This is not your run of the mill standard Chinese restaurant with Americanized dishes. Dishes are authentic to Taiwan and are full of flavor! They use fresh ingredients and no MSG which is rare to find these days in Asian restaurants. We found our new favorite spot and will be back! read more

We tried the young chow fried rice and roast pork "lo mein". The fried rice hit the spot. No complaints. Meat and veg tasted fresh. Roast pork was flavorful and again, the vegetables tasted fresh. Only negatives would be that the portions were slightly on the smaller side for the price and the "lo mein" noodles were a surprise. They appear to be linguini pasta noodles, rather than the typical lo mein noodles you get at most places. Ultimately, we liked the noodles, but it wasn't what we expected and I still prefer "regular lo mein." We would definitely be up for trying other dishes, because of the quality of the ones we have tried. read more

Yen's Cafe - Roast pork "lo mein" - Taiwanese Near Me - Ashburn, Virginia

Twice in the last 7 days I've Ordered from GrubHub from Yen's Cafe. TWICE the restaurant has been "closed" early and I've gotten no food. The restaurant has a great reputation for fresh food, but this is my family's first impression and it's NOT good. I understand that COVID presents operational challenges for sure but this issue with GrubHub should be addressed. Very very irritated. read more

Best potstickers in northern Virginia! General Tso's is our other favorite but you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Staff/owner are super friendly. Don't mistake this place for the fake Yen's down the street! read more