50 Best Chinese Restaurants near El Cerrito

“I've recently both eaten in and picked up frozen dumplings and chive pancakes to make at home. My gut tells me they really want to be take out only based on the interior of late. Which I fine, the food is super easy to make at home and really, really good!“

“Great food and we will definitely visit again“

“Delicious food✓ Flavor✓ Portion Size✓ Reasonable Price✓ Worth Every Penny✓ Very Friendly✓ Very Polite✓ Very Patient in explaining the Menu✓
My family and I new fav go-to spot ✓
Will order from here, from now on ✓ \⁠(⁠๑⁠╹⁠◡⁠╹⁠๑⁠)⁠ﾉ“

“That’s the best looking place, but the price was right and the food was good not great but good. The price was very very good for the portions which really gives it a five star rating. If the price would’ve been a little high I would’ve given them like a 3 1/2.
But it was generally clean spacious and and I recommend the lunch specials which you’re very generous“

“Idk why people have so much hate for this place. Ive ordered from here a few times and every single time im impressed with how much depth and the flavor has for each dish AS WELL as the size portions of the food. I spent approx 100 bucks for 4 people (thats pretty average these days) for dinner and everyone loved what they got. 3/4 of us were able to order 2 entrees and managed to keep it around 25-30 dollars each and then still had enough food for leftovers later. Tsing Tao (love ya, Tsing Tao) is second to this place imo and ive been going to Tsing Tao since I was a kid. Give it a shot.“

“My favorite place to get Chinese food. I’ve tried a lot of spots in Richmond and this place is by far my favorite. The food is freshly made and you can taste the quality of their ingredients. My go to is beef and broccoli with fried rice. I’m from the East Coast and Chinese food out there tastes way different than over here (and better in my opinion). Frannie’s is the closest I’ve gotten to back home <3 So good. My partner loves their Mongolian beef. The staff is friendly and it’s not a long wait. I HIGHLY recommend you try them out!“

“If you want to get a mound of yummy food for a reasonable price, then I suggest you check this place out! They have trays of food you can choose from and the food is freshly made. You can choose a la carte off their menu or from 1 , 2 or 3 item combo's. It's the El Cerrito Plaza so there is often plenty of parking and the prices are very reasonable for combos which I highly recommend!!“

“I came in after getting off of work around an hour before closing and the employees there were great and greeted me when they saw me come in. I had the Fried Rice, Orange Chicken, and Black Pepper Angus Steak. Everything was good and service was super fast. Props to the employees here.“

“This restaurant was born out of Hong Kong Lounge II, which was one of our favorites. This met our expectation. So glad to see returning staff from the prior location providing the same amazing service. Food was outstanding. My next adventure will be chicken feet.“

“Always great dim sum and dumplings.“

“Wonderful restaurant, Absolutely outstanding experience! This Chinese roast duck restaurant delivers perfection in every detail. The duck is incredibly crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and carved with impressive skill right at the table. The flavors are rich but never greasy, and the accompanying pancakes, scallions, and sauces are all beautifully balanced.

The service is warm, attentive, and efficient, and the staff make you feel truly welcome. The atmosphere is elegant yet comfortable—perfect for both family gatherings and special occasions.“

“Superb! The cooking show is very nice!“

“Silly name but this place has the perfect combination of quality, quantity of food, and price. I get several meals over a few days with the generous servings here without breaking the bank. I’m a vegetarian and there are many meatless options including meatless sesame chicken which tastes spot on with great sauce. The salt & pepper tofu is also well prepared, crispy and delicious. I also recommend the meatless chicken, broccoli with garlic sauce on the side, easily one of my favorites.
You simply can’t go wrong here.“

“I enjoy this restaurant very much. The food is excellent and fresh. it’s served hot every time. The servers can speed up with taking orders but otherwise, they are o.k. The restaurant is ok. The seating is too close for me but I get it. There’s No parking. It’s excellent.“

“The taste is very good, I will go there again next time.“

“Great dim sum. Friendly service. Great location in the fisherman’s wharf area where locals and tourists can enjoy the food and the scenary“

“Its hard to find a good jianbing in the bay but this little shop in chinatown hits the spot. Its a hole in a wall shop so the only seating you will find is the bench they set up near their shop. Its a nice grab and go place with friendly staff“

“The taste is very good, I will go there again next time.“

“食物美味，环境优美，服务很棒，下次再来“

“Very attentive and friendly staff. Atmosphere was quaint. Expected food to come out consistently together for group so that everyone could select their entrees and also eat the chow mein and/or rice with the meats and veggie options we selected. Would recommend the Mongolian beef and vegetable egg rolls!“

“California-style Cantonese cuisine! I really like the decoration style here, which always makes me feel better when dining here. The golden lotus chandelier and the gold and silver wire lamp are definitely the best decoration! 👍The pastries here are also worth mentioning! Pineapple buns, wife cakes, black sesame banana cakes with miso sugar!“

“The most authentic Hunan cuisine I've ever eaten!“

“I used to live in SF for a short while and been revisiting Hai Ky for 15 years. I think about the food here a lot - the craft is amazing. It's a regular topic in my group chat.
The broth is restrained but near perfect - the noodles are platonic ideal textures of gloss and chewiness. Glorious, bouncy and well dressed in whatever you get them in. The rice noodles are especially impressive- so fresh and well cooked . The main noodle dish is famous in south china (there's a Netflix china docu) and especially through Thailand Cambodia vietnam and they show the slight inflection of how we eat it in SE Asia. The condiments here are even perfect - just peer into the pristinely sliced chilis perfectly crisp in vinegar brine. Get the special w all the noodles and also the fried fish cake if they still have.
I'm sad to see how abandoned downtown SF and especially Tenderloin feels now on recent visits. A lot of restaurants are barely living anywhere let alone here. I hope selfishly they'll live on for many more years. Support them in all ways- and plz tip all the ppl well. Bless! 🥲“

“This is one of my two favorite Chinese places in the Bay Area. I've been going there for like 15 years, miss them a lot when I'm in DC working. It's a very affordable place, the lunch deluxe deal is unbeatable. They can also do dishes that are not in the menu for the connoisseurs like pak chit kai, the traditional steamed half hen with a tangy and tasty ginger garlic scallion condiment. It's no frills, but we are not here for a Michelin experience but to eat really delish Chinese Cantonese plates. And the owners are always really nice and they speak Spanish (at least some, and they are funny)“

“The Dumplings are amazing!“

“Great place for dim sum and good service“

“Our daughter is obsessed with soup dumplings which we found at Fusion Dumpling. The traditional pork were great, but try the black truffle and wagyu soup dumplings. You won't be disappointed!“

“We’d been meaning to try this place for over a year, but honestly, we were so burned out on the usual veg*n Chinese spots around the Bay that we kept putting it off. I’m so glad we finally went—because wow, what an incredible surprise.

Every single dish we tried (two entrées and three appetizers) was beautifully seasoned, full of flavor, and genuinely delicious. The variety on the menu is impressive, and for once, we didn’t hit a single miss. Everything just… worked.

If you’ve been feeling underwhelmed by other veg*n Chinese options, or just want to try something new, this spot will absolutely renew your excitement. Highly recommend. We’ll be back soon.“

“Nouvelle Asian cuisine. We enjoyed the tasting menu, which offered many delicious and artistically presented courses including two desserts, all for a reasonable (by San Francisco standards) $120 per person + drinks + taxes + tips, bringing the actual total to $200 per person.
The Happy Crane cocktail made is a gimlet style drink, small yet so tasty that one of us ordered two of them!
Each course was presented promptly. Understandably, given the rapid rise in popularity of this new dining spot, some of the wait staff appeared to be still in training. That said, servers were eager to please and friendly.“

“Good place for a quick bite. The atmosphere and service are no frills, but the food is quite tasty.

We ordered the Chongqing Street Noodle (D11) and the Noodle with twice-cooked pork (D10). The portion sizes were good, but there was very little protein in either bowl. Aside from that, the noodles had a nice bounce to them and the broth was flavorful. Just beware that both were a bit spicy if you are sensitive to heat.“

“At this location, the fried garlic is served separately—a detail I truly appreciate. I also really enjoy their thin egg noodles, which strike a perfect balance between chewy and tender without becoming overly soft. However, the dish tends to be quite oily, so if you prefer lighter meals, this might not be ideal for you.

My usual order is the Number 1 without kidney, with the soup served on the side. I also always add fish cake as an appetizer. The total cost for two regular dishes plus one appetizer comes to $53.75.

What I love about this restaurant is how it evokes the authentic flavors of Thailand’s street food, especially the dry yellow egg noodles. While it doesn’t include traditional Thai-style char siu or wontons, the taste remains quite close to home.

This well-established Chinese restaurant impresses me with its surprisingly clean restrooms, likely due to my morning visits. Parking can be difficult, as only metered street parking is available. The branch tends to be busy, so clear communication with staff is important. Although there may be a short wait, the service is attentive and friendly.“

“In Chinatown classic! I had the pure Rice noodle combination. My husband had the curry chicken and we split the eggrolls. They give you complementary hot tea and they are awesome people not to mention they were playing the best 80s music!!“

“I enjoyed my Meal. I found the service excellent and Ti curry yum.“

“Most slept on noodle soups in Berkeley, not sure how this spot hasn’t blown up.. and arguably better than most of the other hype noodle spots around town. But hey, there’s a reason this spot has been around for decades.

I recommend the beef noodle soup, medium spice ⛽️“

“This is honestly the best place to satisfy my craving for great Chinese food. I have visited plenty of times and have never grown tired of eating there. The broccoli chicken with steamed rice is simply the best, and the ingredients are always cooked to perfection. I clean my plate every time, down to the last grain of rice, as the portion sizes are just right. The price can't be beat. Plus the owners are super friendly. I will happily visit again!“

“Will miss the place“

“Very good food“

“The vegetarian food was great! Love the potatoes from Szechuan!“

“Great Food and Service will always come back when visiting San Francisco“

“i been to this restaurant many times al the people who work there make you feel like home the food always delicious always . they very fast with everything and they clean and they always serving the food more than enough. i love this restaurant i highly recommended them for anybody’s looking to have a great Chinese food“

“I worked here before and when it first opened!!! Such happy memories and so happy to see it’s still thriving!“

“Food was great, really liked that it is served hot and fresh. Portions are good for 2 people.
I ordered: Vegetable Fried Rice, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Pork Soup Dumpling. Plus Tip Total was $70
Soup Dumpling has excellent flavors but the meat inside was a bit small compare to other places I've been.
Honey Walnut Shrimp was great! Not the usual flavors I am used to when it comes to HWS but I like it. I think they may have added sesame oil. There was so much shrimp so this was a very good surprise for me since in most restaurant I can count the amount of shrimp they put in just by looking.
Vegetable Fried Rice was good, just your normal average fried rice. Nothing stood out from how it tasted or presented.

Service was good for there was barely any people in the restaurant, it seems that the locals do prefer to order out than eat in. They are very attentive and quick to serve.
When you enter you are greeted and once seated you are handed a tablet to place your order. If you have questions you can easily flag them down. I am unsure but I don't think they have any normal size spoon because when I asked for a spoon to eat my fried rice, the choice I have was either a soup spoon, which I already have. Or a giant serving spoon. I should have just asked for a fork lol

Atmosphere, It's good. It is very bright in the restaurant and they play some music in the background. I think that it's just too bright and they need to lessen the lights.“

“All I can say is wow. The restaurant place is a bit small but their food is amazing. We were so full leaving. I really liked the atmosphere. The host was very accommodating. My mom loves dimsung and everything was closed but we found this place that had a little bit of everything on the menu. The milk tea was incrediblely delicious.“

“We dined in for a late lunch as a family of three. The yelp waitlist indicated a 10-20 minute wait and we were surprised to receive a text 5 minutes later.

Food came out hot and fresh. We ordered the Juicy Pork Bao, Pork Xiao Long Bao, Zha Jiang House Special Bean Paste with Mince Pork, Boiled Pork and Chive Dumplings and Fried Tofu.

While there is no separate kids menu, our thirteen month old loved his food so much that he stayed in his high chair for the duration of the meal.

Would highly recommend!“

“Just scroll a little bit if you want to hear more about how exceptional their Chinese Food is. I have to at least say it's the best I've ever had. But for me what was most impressive is how despite having an absolutely massive menu, a menu so massive Gordon would yell at it. Shan Dong's team consistently serves insanely delicious and certainly fresh food in under 15 minutes, regardless of how busy they are.

I was lucky enough to get seated near the kitchen for my latest visit. They didn't have a line out the door this time, but they certainly had a small army of Doordash drivers out front waiting for delicious eats to deliver. Expo was a heavily used end table and rope for paper tickets, but their team managed to send piles of sinfully delicious food out in record time. The fact they're making handmade noodles on top of running a perfect service in that environment, totally mind boggling.

Like if you're leaving anything other than five stars, you ordered the one dish they can't get right. Have yet to figure out which one that is.“

“Great Service! Delicious Dumplings! the Generals Shrimp! We Lived It!!!“

“traveling and yelped this .. just go..“

“Yummy Chinese food! Potstickers are made fresh

Vegetarian options: vegetarian options available

Dietary restrictions: vegetarian options available, but it is an asian restaurant so dont expect a whole bunch of options for dietary restrictions like Kosher, vegan, nut free etc

Parking: located on the corner of a street, a couple of parking spots available

Kid-friendliness: kid friendly but a lot of spicy dishes

Wheelchair accessibility: not wheelchair accessible, need to go up stairs“

“loved it! duck was delicious!“

“Finding an excellent Chinese food place has always been very difficult for me out here , but not these guys you can tell the food is curated with passion and love. Everyone from the girl who attended to the cooks did an amazing job, thanks for feeding me and these big portions, so delicious. God bless“