Swen Chinese Cafe

Reviews

• Bill B.

  star star star star star 13 September 2026

  Dropped in Tues nite.  Linda is great hostess.  John too.  The master chef is from Sichuan...so if you like it spicy this the place.  They cater mostly tp Chinese sooo...they food will be very chinese.  I tried the pepper beef. Cumin lamb is excellent. Also the garlic with chinese broccoli is great but iffy for non garlic people.  Lunchtime is busy but fun.  The dinner hour is relaxing and quiet until bar next door gets fired up. About 8.  If you dont enjoy yourself here It's your own fault.

• K C.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 12 September 2026

  Worst places ever!  It's times like this that we wish illegal people should not be allowed to work or have a business.  They don't even speak English.
  
  We have a food allergy in the family and their reply was they do not know what they put in their food.
  
  I asked if they used MSG and the reply was 'we don't speak english nor do we care if you have an allergy.  Do you want order food or not'
  
  Weren't they speaking English?  
  
  ONLY MY OPINION, however, if you have any allergies at all or you want to know if they are cooking or not cooking the meat...or if they are really using meat; then stay clear of this place.  
  
  Unless you like using your epipen or spending the rest of your days in the hospital or possibly death do to food poisoning. Don't think it's worth that.

• Ebony T.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 10 September 2026

  The food made me sick!! Worst tasting General Tso Chicken ever!!
  My chicken was not fully cooked!! The batter was soggy!!! RAW meat!! No flavor once so ever!! I do NOT recommend this place at all! They need to shut down. There's a Jade Garden across the street and Panda Garden down Hwy 6- their food is much better and authentic.

• Simon L.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 7 September 2026

  Got sick after eating there. Reaction from msg intake. The dishes had too much msg, even a chinese can not take it.
  
  Several headaches
  Sweating
  Nausea
  Diarrhea

• Steven L.

  star star star star_border star_border 4 September 2026

  Swen Chinese Café has been around for years now, it seems.  The name, I am guessing had to do with the transliteration of their Chinese name of the restaurant 隨緣 (Swei-Yuan), which means to revel, or to go with where life/karma takes you.  Definitely a change from your typical naming schemes that just uses a region/location from China in their name.
  
  Swen is mainly a Sichuan style restaurant, the region is known for their hot and spicy dishes, some of the most, if not the most famous, is non other than Mapo Tofu or Kungpao Chicken.  The menu is a mixture of Chinese American cuisine (mostly on the daily lunch specials), Sichuan, and dishes from other regions.  My extended family, mainly my wife's side of the family, really enjoy authentic Sichuan cuisines, which is kind of hard to find sometimes.
  
  Like most Asian restaurants in town, typically when their American counterparts are off for major holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, etc.) they are open for business.  Though it is certainly not our first time here, but my first check-in since using the Yelp app just happens to be on Thanksgiving Day 2017, when not surprisingly most of the parking lot is empty.
  
  The restaurant is pretty open spaced and can seat large groups and there is usually availability.  However, in large groups and they are short on staff, service can get a little slow (we actually have to seat ourselves and get our own menus this time, probably because we've been here before and there was a large 2 10-people table party already seated).  The TV only plays one channel (CNN, I think, but I don't think anyone really cared), chemistry between management, kitchen staff, and wait staff can sometimes be strained.
  
  It will be hard to name these without looking at the menu, and even then I am not sure if the English translations will be 100% accurate.
  
  Fuqi Feipian (Husband & Wife Tripe) - Cold appetizer, sliced beef tripe in spicy chili sauce.  Start your dish with a tingle to the senses, it's actually something that still remains good throughout your meal, even if you were to come back to it later.
  
  Xihu Beef Soup - A non-spicy soup in a Sichuan restaurant? How dare you!?  But Swen is not a typical Sichuan restaurant, it is just mainly Sichuan, not totally Sichuan.  It is a semi-clear thick brothy soup has ground beef, egg whites, tofu, and sometimes garnished with either cilantro or watercress.  A good choice for a non-spicy alternative, especially if you have kids or non-spicy eater in your group.
  
  Shuizu Yu or Niu ("Water cooked" Fish or Beef) - Sounds pretty harmless right?  Fish (mostly Sole used here) or Beef cooked in spicy chili broth.  This one, if cooked well, a Sichuan cuisine advocate will tell you that it will numb their senses, starting from their taste buds.
  
  Wu Geng Chang Wang (4AM Intestines and prosperity) - Ok, this one is hard, but it the first words signifies time that is approximately 4AM, probably means it has to cook to 4 in the morning (there is also another saying it's the stems (or Geng) of 5 types of veggies involved in the cooking), Chang, is Intestines, and Wang here, is actually duck blood (in cubed gelatin form), blood being red signifies prosperity/good business, Chang and Wang together means to hope for "good fortune/business is frequent).  Well, we are certainly glad that it is not going to be 4AM when we eat our meal.... The actual dish is a big bowl of spicy broth with marinated pig intestines and duck blood gelatin, and veggies cooked, and continuously heated with a sterno once it is served on your table.  This one right here, is a Taiwanese style Sichuan cuisine.  Really heats you up on a cold day.
  
  Come check out Swen if you are in the mood for some Sichuan and their not-so-Sichuan alternatives.