Yen's Cafe

I was intrigued to see a Taiwanese restaurant in VA, which is not so common. So I decided to give it a shot. To my surprise, the food here is very authentic and tasty. The dumplings we ordered have a perfect balance of vegetables and meat. I also got pork belly with bamboo shoot in mom’s sauce, this one is a winner too. It does taste like mom’s home made food that everyone would love! If I’m ever in VA again. I’ll stop by.

I went there with my friends and had wonderful Taiwanese food and customer service! I had Jasmine Tea, A-thai with Garlic, Pipa Tofu and Minced Pork & String Bean with Black bean with buns. They are all very tasty and fresh. The taste here is not too salty nor oily. I dont like heavy greasy Chinese with too much sugar. They were all mild and fine taste. I will come back and try more food here! Thank you for the great customer service too!

Updating review in 2026 - This is the best Taiwanese restaurant in town. They have been consistent with quality and taste since they opened this place. We always appreciate their service and the free dessert 😁 Loved the basil chicken, and spicy Lon green chilli chicken. If you are visiting add this place to your list. Old review: Don't miss the Taiwanese fried chicken! Mongolian chicken, crab Rangoon, fried rice, lo mein, and Taiwanese fried chicken were great! Disappointed with the Kung Pao chicken, chicken was very dry and hard to chew. Complementary dessert was delicious! Yen's Cafe is always been in my top Chinese restaurants.

I had food here before and the food is great. However, today (Saturday) I checked and online says closing at 10PM, the door says 10PM and the open sign was turned on. It was 8:02 there was no one at the door so we sat down. After a few minutes someone came out from the rear and said they were closed and it only applied for today even though all signs pointed to it being opened. This will probably be my last time at this place.

Came out from DC for Yen’s Cafe, and wow are we glad we made the trip. An absolute destination-worthy dinner! We split the potstickers, Mongolian beef, 3-cup chicken, and Yen’s Special rice. All dishes were made with great care (they even make their own crunchy noodles — who does that! — a nice touch), beautifully seasoned and flavorful, and with remarkably fresh ingredients. Each was a showstopper. Every member of our party had a different favorite, showing the versatility at play here. A pot of the rose tea also proved a nice accompaniment. Do yourself a favor and get out to Yen’s — absolutely delicious food at fair prices with nice ambience and friendly staff — a win on all fronts.

One of the worst place I ever seen please stay away from this place Full of attitude Please seriously I’m saying worst and dangerous place If you eat food from here definitely you will get seek on same day I had food here before and the food is great. However, today (Saturday) I checked and online says closing at 10PM, the door says 10PM and the open sign was turned on. It was 8:02 there was no one at the door so we sat down. After a few minutes someone came out from the rear and said they were closed and it only applied for today even though all signs pointed to it being opened. This will probably be my last time at this place.

Where to start? Amazing top to bottom. I couldn't wait to come back after the first bite. This quiet little spot is comfortable, with friendly folks and a beautiful atmosphere. Everything tasted phenomenal. The tea presentation was superb. They have a tea menu with 10 different flavorful teas. The folks kept refilling the pot too! I started with the hot and sour soup which was the drop down best!! I had the beef with snow pea tips in Sha chat sauce which was clean, not middled sauce and a perfectly cooked dish. The moo shoo chicken was the best I've seen. The bamboo tray of steamed wraps was a great addition. I can't wait to try more things next time!!

We’ve been visiting here for years and still often. This is a true authentic Taiwanese restaurant and the food has always been great. We really love 3 cup chicken, lions head, and Minced Pork and String Bean w/Dried Black Bean. The owner is very welcoming and friendly and almost feel like we are visiting auntie. Will definitely return.

Here we are getting the chicken with dried chili's. Now I'm expecting this to be spicy, she asked if I wanted it to be extra spicy and I said sure and it still came up at about 4/10 on the spice meter. Excellent service because she asked if it was spicy enough and I said no she came back out with the liquid spice. Through the power of liquid spice, about 4 tablespoons, I was able to get it to the point I wanted it. The food was 4/5 but the service was above anything. She came out with water as soon as I sat down and didn't stop. When the glass was empty, she was there. The restaurant is decorated and looks great. The menu is expansive with lots of vegetarian options. I don't see anything here being bad with this level of service. Wholeheartedly recommend

Had a depressing/ disgusting experience here last evening. Decided to go for dinner with friends and right off the bat the person serving us seem to be in a bad mood and seemed irritated to serve us. There was only one other family dinning there and this was around 6PM on a Saturday. After noticing his attitude for some time, I politely asked the server (I was told that he is also the owner of the place) if he was having a bad day, and this guy just exploded and said that yes he was having a bad day and he didn't want us to dine there any more. On asking what happened, he said that his place was open for 'take out' only and not dinning ins. For which we asked him why he had the "Open" sign ON outside the restaurant then. Anyway, at that point our evening was ruined and we decided to leave. If you are going here for dine in, please do not expect any politeness or customer service.

Pretty good food and service as last time!! Tried Black Bean Tofu this time. If you have had MaPo Tofu, this is similar to that in the sense that this is also made with a lot of soft tofu but this has a gravy with beans and bell peppers. Tasted really good! Hot n Sour Soup was amazing as usual!! We also got a custard bun as dessert on the house! It was warmed up, perfect for windy and cold weather outside.

We've been going here and there over the last 12 years. We usually eat there since we don't live very close. We went recently and found that they no longer staff for or prioritize the dine in experience. The table next to us left since it took so long for the one person working out front to take their order. The server was nice but service was slow and he didn't get our order perfect. We won't be back. The food is pretty good but my son had a headache after eating chicken lo mein and I'm wondering if it's the MSG. My orange chicken was way too spicy for medium and the white meat was very tough.

Went for dinner on Friday evening and the place was empty but buzzing with pickups for take out orders. The interiors are minimal with cute hand paintings on the walls. The hosts are very polite, friendly and accommodating. We had the Taiwanese popcorn crispy chicken, hot and sour soup, Mongolian chicken and mapo tofu. Every single dish was flavorful but the pick was probably the soup and the Mongolian chicken. Definitely coming back again to try more dishes and even take out if it falls in our delivery radius

Dined here while visiting DC over the weekend. The place was small but very efficient. Super friendly and helpful owner. She recommended Hunan fish which was a big hit for us. The fish was tasty and flavorful. The veggies was fresh and perfectly cooked. Stir fried eggplant was very good. Service was really quick and portion was decent. Great place for food!

Service of this spot was excellent! Seemed like the owner of the place. He was so sweet and checked in on us to make sure everything was good :) I was pleasantly surprised by the Eggplant dish. Nice and soft with a not too sweet sauce. I would definitely get it again. Popcorn chicken was good along with the lo mein. The seating is cozy and homey. Felt traditional and welcoming to guests. Definitely visiting again!

This is a well-known Taiwanese restaurant in the heart of Ashburn that has a nice mix of different Asian cuisines. I opted to have the Drunken Beef Noodles, a personal favorite, and was super pleased with the outcome. It tasted flavorful and was plentiful. My friends tried classic Chinese favorites such as the Sesame Chicken & General Tso's. The waitress was extremely nice. She managed to get all the ordered correct and out quickly which was notable as we were a large party. She handled the split checks wonderfully as well and worked well with the manager on cleaning plates as soon as they were completed. Parking is extremely avaiable out front in the Ryan Park shopping center and very close to the Nature Preserve for a nice walk afterwards.

We had a pretty horrible experience dining for the first time at Yens cafe. The food was ok; the dumplings weren't cooked through. The owner's husband initiated a conversation about politics, which we politely declined to engage in. He continued and berated us about being on the wrong side of politics then ignored us after we asked him to stop talking about politics. We had to ask for the check because he wouldn't come over to us anymore. We were the only patrons in the restaurant at this point.

Many Taiwanese menu options and very consistent with their dishes. The customer service is quick and friendly. We've dined here more than a dozen times throughout the years. We usually get a noodle soup dish, meat dish, and fried rice.

What a hidden Asian gem! Was trying to find an authentic Taiwanese restaurant during my TDY and this restaurant did not disappoint. Owner spoke both Mandarin and Taiwanese and feels quite at home. They have been doing well since 2008. Location is not hard to find but it is behind the Panera plaza, which I drove in first by mistake. The parking lot of the plaza is pretty big so quite easy to park. They have 3 spots reserved for pickup so that's nice for to-go orders! The interior is nice and cozy with only about 7 tables. I came during wee hour (Wed afternoon) so didn't have to wait at all. Order the avocado cucumber salad and the Taiwanese popcorn chicken. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The cucumbers and lettuce were fresh and avocados added making a very refreshing dish. The Taiwanese popcorn chicken was on point. Authentic. Slightly crispy basal leaves, firm and crisp chicken with juicy meat inside. Definitely a must-order if you like chicken. Will definitely come back and try other dishes. Keep ip the good work Yen's Cafe & Fresh Juice!

Excellent. Not as outstanding as it was before COVID, but hands down, still the best authentic Chinese food in Ashburn. Fantastic lunch boxes! See you again soon!!!

Very good place to eat, more choice, home town style Chinese food, tasty. Reasonable prices, good 。Friendly services . Recommend it.

This place is the best!! The food is super fresh and they have a large menu. I have eaten tons of Asian food in my life and my experience is always the same...I retain water afterwards, feel oily and can tell there is a bunch of msg in it. After eating here you can tell that everything is homemade. I didn't have that heavy feeling afterwards. The gentleman that took care of us was so helpful, kind and the service was wonderful. It was very hospitable, I felt like I was being served in someone's home. He told us about the restaurant and how long they have been around I loved their tea and the custard bun was a great way to end the meal I highly highly recommend you try Yens cafe next time you want again food!

Stopped in to get a takeout menu. Decided to place order and worst decision ever!! Ask for Kung Pao chicken with extra sauce. When we got home I knew something was wrong before we opened the container. It smelled burnt, sauce was dark brown and almost over flowing. This deserves a negative review!!

We ordered with DoorDash. The Sesame Chicken was not good at all. It seemed fatty. We complained but the owner argued with me. Never again.

So I thought I've been to THE Yen's in Ashburn before but I found out that there are two within a few miles of each other but separate restaurants. So good to keep in mind if you're placing an online order. We placed an online order for Yen's. Got a large Hot and Sour soup, large Crispy Noodles, Crab Rangoon, Taiwan-Style Fried Chicken, Minced Beef & Diced String Beans buns, and a Mango Juice Smoothie. Pickup orders take about 40 minutes according to their site. I got turned around trying to figure out which one I was going to but its located next to the Chick Fil A. Wasn't too busy for a Friday night but the inside isn't too big. I got greeted by someone as soon as I got in and they got me checked out and out the door in seconds. They packed everything really well, specifically the chicken which didn't have the lid on it to keep it crispy (pro move!). Everything traveled well. I've had the Fried Chicken and the Beef & String Bean buns before and they were still very good. Chicken was crisp, juicy, and salty with the good fried basil. The buns were flavorful and lots of beef and string bean filling. The rangoon were filled pretty good. The soup was solid and helped clear some sinuses. Loved the smoothie, real good mango flavor. Great takeout spot. Would definitely come back here to pick something up again.

The orange chicken medium spicy is absolutely amazing. Packaging was excellent and price was good. More than enough portion per price. Would absolutely try again and recommend!

Excellent service and food is good. If you order the General Tao's Chicken, make sure you order medium/mild or it may be too spicy. The menu selection at the restaurant is impressive. There is a lot to try.

When a restaurant like this has "authentic" in the description, everybody knows to void it because it will not really have an impact. I was absolutely wrong!!! After discovering this place on Yelp by my office, I decided to stop in to see how this place competes with the local Asian food joints. When I came in, a voice greeted me immediately from the kitchen as the owner rounded the doors and came out to greet me. I was not prepared to be spoken to in a tone that made me feel like I was actually there to be catered to and given a quality experience. The interior is quite small (which honestly adds to the authentic feel) and the music choice is somewhere around Latin America/Spain. I ordered the Thai Fried Chicken (after seeing how delicate it looked on the Yelp previews) and I was surprised. It was served on a small plate with basil with a side of white rice. No sauce or oil of any kind to accompany it. The owner explained that the chicken is instead marinated before being deep fried and has all of the flavor inside. Which I appreciate more than your basic chicken thigh being breaded and then needing condiments to give it any taste. The owner also recommended I eat it with this spice I can only describe as "Old Bay - but Asian" and it was delicious. The fried chicken itself was surprisingly light and very moist and tender. They have a pretty big menu so I am curious if this kind of food quality is able to maintain. I will definitely be putting that to the test! :)

Delicious food and great customer service!! Definitely will continue to buy from them

I ordered through Uber Eats so maybe these owners don't care about delivery orders. The mapo tofu I received tasted like tofu boiled in dirty dishwater, and the general tso had dried out overfried chicken. I have never eaten in the restaurant and after this order, I never will. The mapo was the absolute worst I've ever had and actually want my money back. They should be ashamed for serving this disgusting food, and I just pray I don't get sick from having tasted it.

This used to be our favorite place. Not sure if it changed ownership? The food just taste mediocre , just like many other Chinese food restaurants

Good food and good service. It is clean and pricey. Decent menu. Large efficient staff.

One of the better Asian eats in Loudoun. While Loudoun isn't known for asian cuisine, this spot May give Chinese/Taiwanese style eats the respect it deserves. Most of the dishes I've had here are delicious such as the Mango Beef, Fried Tofu w/ veggies, Jumbo shrimp w/ veggies, and Taiwan style rice noodle combo (a must have). All have that Chinese flavors I grew up with the right balance of saltiness, sweetness, and bitterness. The Moo-shu dishes (veggies, pork) were tasty but heavy on the salt, just my opinion. Remember balance is key! No dine-ins since COVID sucks so everything is take out. They do a good job packing their food as it carries well on the way home. Since my parents are in Leesburg, it's a good 25 minute drive but everything is still warm and ready to dig in. This spot is tucked in some buildings behind the Giant so might be hard to see. Just look for the Subway shop. Then it's right next to it. That's why you're here right!?

Super helpful owner makes all the great recommendations! We love the braced tofu and pork, flavorful Eggplants! Try them and you will keep on coming back!

Good service. Good food. That's all I ask for. If you're local, Yen's is convenient & in my top 5 restaurant choices.

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!

Everything was delicious! Possibly the kindest service I've ever experienced. The owner and staff were super considerate of our little ones and even played peekaboo to keep one entertained. We live pretty far but we will be back if we're in the area!

The flavor! This cafe has such an extensive menu! I was feeling a bit under the weather and wanted some good food to have in kitchen as I started getting better. The velvet corn egg drop soup with crunchies are a must when I am feeling sick. I got this three times last week from YEN's. Highly recommend adding it on to your order and having it next day or in the morning when you wake up. For the family I ordered pork with bean curd that comes with Boa to use as taco's. I love the spicy oil they make this with and it has good taste. I also got crispy sesame beef and tried the chicken one this week as well. It's over flowing with flavors and stays crispy days after in your fridge! Just goes to show you how good quality this place is! We got the curry singapore noodles (chicken) and they were so flavorful and delivious. We got the desert custard donut balls. They are served warm and are dense so good substance. The egg rolls are good too, they stay crunchy when you get them delivered. Overall I'm really happy with Yen's cafe! They have lunch specials too, I wish they had a bit more options for lunch and the dinner meal options will run you about 14-25 depending on what you get. Family meal style dishes, and perfect for sharing with a group of family or friends. I will definitley be back!

First time at this mom & pops Taiwanese restaurant. We liked what we ordered except for bitter melon with salty duck eggs. That was awful. Best to stick with traditional B09. Bitter Melon and Beef with Black Bean Sauce next time. Fried filet fish with lemongrass was also good. Pineapple buns on the house for dessert- that was nice. Pipa tofu was sold out tonight so will come back to try that dish.

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.

Very soild Taiwanese! Ordered several dishes to share amongst friends: 3 cups chicken, crispy beef, pork string beans, popcorn chicken, and pork dry bean curd. Everything was very good and flavorful; although portions weren't that big. One small issue was that 3 cups chicken was boneless white meat; I'd prefer whole cut up chicken on the bone. But had great flavor especially ginger. Service was good, food was quick and water was filled all the time. Would definitely return.

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.

I just spent $23 and drove 15 minutes to get the beef noodle soup for a take out. Unfortunately, it was a terrible choice because the soup wasn't separated from the noodles and it was so soggy and was completely inedible. There's no soup in the noodle, and the the noodle just completely got mushy and you can just mash it with your finger. Whenever I get a take out from a pho or other Asian noodle soup, it was customary that the restaurant separate the noodle from the soup and that's what I was expecting but I was in complete shock. It's pretty upsetting because of the lost lunch ($23) and the precious time I just wasted. I typically do not write restaurant reviews but I am compelled because I want the restaurant to take this seriously.

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

Since Yen's cafe was recently featured in the North Virginia magazine as one of the 100 cheap eats restaurants, we had decided to give it a try. It was a cute little restaurant primarily in an office park, with a cozy ambience. We ordered crab rangoon, shrimp roll, Taiwanese style veg noodles and chicken with mixed veg. Also, ordered eucalyptus tea. The food was definitely notch about regular Asian restaurants. Shrimp roll was the stand out and the eucalyptus tea was one of the best I have had. Above all, it was courteousness of the owner that impressed us. He was very polite and patiently answered all our questions. We will definitely return and try that Moo Shu Chicken which our next table patron said was amazing! Pro tip: Try Mango Passion fruit tea.

Yen's Cafe is the best Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant in the area. It is truly authentic cuisine and it is fresh. The restaurant itself is an intimate dining experience (the space is small), but cute and clean. I have a hard time naming a specific menu item because it is all very good. There is a lot to try.

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.

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.

Vast menu and a majority of dishes are tasty unless you majorly screw up your order. I'm a regular here and yet keep craving for this every few weeks. Give it a try! I and some of our friends have tried these so far: Singapore noodles Schezwan noodles (don't have it in the menu but you can ask them to prepare it) String beans Spicy Eggplant Crispy tofu Spring rolls

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.