S & E Cafe
Chinese · San Francisco
About S & E Cafe
At S & E Cafe, we're proud to serve up high-quality 80's Cantonese cuisine that lives up to the gold standard set by classic Hong Kong and San Francisco Chinatown/Peninsula eateries. After a two-year hiatus for indoor dining, our cozy neighborhood joint is back in business, offering a warm welcome t...
At S & E Cafe, we're proud to serve up high-quality 80's Cantonese cuisine that lives up to the gold standard set by classic Hong Kong and San Francisco Chinatown/Peninsula eateries. After a two-year hiatus for indoor dining, our cozy neighborhood joint is back in business, offering a warm welcome to regulars and newcomers alike. Our menu features solid HK comfort food at affordable prices, with standout dishes like chicken baked rice varieties and beef tongue spaghetti. Whether you're in the mood for something classic or adventurous, our friendly service team is happy to guide you through the menu. With wheelchair accessibility and a range of convenient ordering options, we invite you to come taste the difference for yourself.
What Customers Say About S & E Cafe
S & E Cafe is a popular spot for Hong Kong-style comfort food, especially late-night. Customers rave about the baked dishes, particularly the ox tongue spaghetti and chicken baked rice. Service can be inconsistent, but some servers like Kery receive high praise.
Popular Dishes
Best For
Tip: Try the baked dishes with white or Portuguese sauce. Be patient, as service can be slow at times, especially when busy.
Features
What to see nearby
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Explore the area around S & E Cafe
S & E Cafe is located in San Francisco, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.
Religious Buildings
- West Portal Lutheran Church (San Francisco) (A 876m)
Parks & Gardens
- Larsen Park (A 366m) — park in California, United States of America
- McCoppin Square Park (A 476m) — park in San Francisco County, California, United States of America
- Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove (A 775m) — park in the Sunset District of San Francisco, California
- Sunset Heights Park (A 938m) — park in San Francisco County, California, United States of America
- Vicente Park (A 958m) — park in San Francisco County, California, United States of America
Data from Wikidata
Frequently asked questions about S & E Cafe
S & E Cafe San Francisco Reviews
Came here for the hong kong tea which was absolutely delicious! The staff was so welcoming, it warmed my heart!♥️
S & E Cafe recently reopened for indoor dining about one month ago. Hooray! I'm happy to see we've turned a corner as they were closed for indoor dining for over two years. Regulars will notice there are slight changes to the menu. I had the runny egg seafood crispy noodles $17 and a ice milk tea $3.50. With fish pieces, runny egg, scallops and shrimps, this was great. The crispy noodles stayed crispy because the chef didn't put too much gravy. Good job everyone at S & E Cafe.
Super low key neighborhood joint for your HK Style Cafe. Really affordable and solid HK comfort food. Their best dish has to be the chicken baked rice varieties (Portuguese, HK, or Macau style). The chicken is always perfectly done, super tender and juicy. On top of that they also always give you a complimentary soup for your lunch and dinner which is a plus. The part I love the most is there's a real sense of community. Everyone here seems to know each other.
This place re-opened for Dine-In following the pandemic, the atmosphere and vibe was perfect. I got the baked ox tongue spaghetti, it was baked to perfection with cheese on top. The quantity was great and the quality was excellent as well. Afterwards there is jell-o which always makes a great dessert. Overall would come back again.
Authentic HK style Cafe...only problem is parking.
Have you ever had really high quality 80's Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong or the old San Francisco Chinatown/Peninsula before the Loma Prieta earthquake? This restaurant is that gold standard quality. They can cook up a storm!...if you've seen Stephen Chow's movie, "The God of Cookery"? You get a tear after a bite like that ending scene with that judge because you remember how good food is supposed to taste like. This restaurant has an incredible chef with cutting skills like that movie. Ask Paul the new owner to order you the banquet style sliced ham perfectly cut chicken dish and you will know what I mean about this chef' s cuttery skills as in like "The God of Cookery". Just to be clear I'm not a cook nor in the restaurant biz; I was a biopharma R&D Chemist, then Forensic Scientist, then Pharma Quality Management. I'm a tough critic when it comes to Hk-Canto food of being quality or not. I can't stand bad food. This restaurant from the first to the last dish on both dinner occasions we visited were superb; just like the golden era days of the past. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li movies. Ingredients procurement to preparation were all A++. They have a lot of celebrities that frequent here too to taste traditional authentic HK/Canto-food.
S & E Cafe recently reopened for indoor dining about one month ago. Hooray! I'm happy to see we've turned a corner as they were closed for indoor dining for over two years. Regulars will notice there are slight changes to the menu. I had the runny egg seafood crispy noodles $17 and a ice milk tea $3.50. With fish pieces, runny egg, scallops and shrimps, this was great. The crispy noodles stayed crispy because the chef didn't put too much gravy. Good job everyone at S & E Cafe.
Super low key neighborhood joint for your HK Style Cafe. Really affordable and solid HK comfort food. Their best dish has to be the chicken baked rice varieties (Portuguese, HK, or Macau style). The chicken is always perfectly done, super tender and juicy. On top of that they also always give you a complimentary soup for your lunch and dinner which is a plus. The part I love the most is there's a real sense of community. Everyone here seems to know each other.
This place re-opened for Dine-In following the pandemic, the atmosphere and vibe was perfect. I got the baked ox tongue spaghetti, it was baked to perfection with cheese on top. The quantity was great and the quality was excellent as well. Afterwards there is jell-o which always makes a great dessert. Overall would come back again.
Authentic HK style Cafe...only problem is parking.
Excellent little cafe for a variety of stuff. I always go for the beef tongue spagett with the red sauce. Clam chowder is great as well with the bread top. Steaks are great too along with the salads. The wait for food can sometimes feel ling but they have TVs inside to distract you with dubs highlights.
This place is definitely a good place if you want a late night food or just a fast place to grab a good meal. The rice plates look amazing as well. I really like their beef stew over rice, place is clean, good, and the service is great!
Went with the family to S&E Cafe for the first time and honestly it was pretty good. Wasnt pack at all and the service was great. Mostly HK comfort food with some other styles of dishes. The community is great because everybody seemed to know each other in a sense.
I love eating here. I have been here four times and the food is amazing. The absolute best of the best for me - a little pricey, but f**kin worth it - was the rib-eye steak with spaghetti. The sauce is something else- it's so delicious. I usually don't eat out, but man, this is worth your time.
5-stars for Kery! She was friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, engaging in conversation, and attentive with the food service. I don’t expect much from service at a Chinese restaurant, but she would have been exceptional anywhere! The food itself was a bit above average and a good price.
5-stars for Kery! She was friendly, knowledgeable about the menu, engaging in conversation, and attentive with the food service. I don’t expect much from service at a Chinese restaurant, but she would have been exceptional anywhere! The food itself was a bit above average and a good price.
Went with the family to S&E Cafe for the first time and honestly it was pretty good. Wasnt pack at all and the service was great. Mostly HK comfort food with some other styles of dishes. The community is great because everybody seemed to know each other in a sense.
I love eating here. I have been here four times and the food is amazing. The absolute best of the best for me - a little pricey, but f**kin worth it - was the rib-eye steak with spaghetti. The sauce is something else- it's so delicious. I usually don't eat out, but man, this is worth your time.
Excellent little cafe for a variety of stuff. I always go for the beef tongue spagett with the red sauce. Clam chowder is great as well with the bread top. Steaks are great too along with the salads. The wait for food can sometimes feel ling but they have TVs inside to distract you with dubs highlights.
This place is definitely a good place if you want a late night food or just a fast place to grab a good meal. The rice plates look amazing as well. I really like their beef stew over rice, place is clean, good, and the service is great!
Real deal Hong Kong style food. We ordered off the menu items like sautéed gailan, black bean garlic ginger leek crab, yu choi, and hk style beef ho fun. Good clear broth house soup and taro tapioca dessert in hot coconut soup on the house like the house soup. The crab was live swimming in tank minutes before served to us!
Real deal Hong Kong style food. We ordered off the menu items like sautéed gailan, black bean garlic ginger leek crab, yu choi, and hk style beef ho fun. Good clear broth house soup and taro tapioca dessert in hot coconut soup on the house like the house soup. The crab was live swimming in tank minutes before served to us!
One of the better hk style cafe/restaurant. They have good fusion and your standard typical Chinese food. Place seems to get crowed around 7-9pm.
We have been to South East Cafe once a week during the lunch time. It is very busy and sometimes we have to wait for table. The food is very good especially the Fish with Fry Rice or Spaghetti. Good size taste good and hot from oven. The service is very good especially from the lady who looks like she is owner of the restaurant. She always have a smile on her, quick and great services.
One of the few remaining HK style Chinese cafes in SF. Their baked dishes with white or Portuguese sauce has been our go to dishes for years. The traditional Cantonese dishes like beef chow fun is really tasty and good price for the portion.
One of the few remaining HK style Chinese cafes in SF. Their baked dishes with white or Portuguese sauce has been our go to dishes for years. The traditional Cantonese dishes like beef chow fun is really tasty and good price for the portion.
We have been to South East Cafe once a week during the lunch time. It is very busy and sometimes we have to wait for table. The food is very good especially the Fish with Fry Rice or Spaghetti. Good size taste good and hot from oven. The service is very good especially from the lady who looks like she is owner of the restaurant. She always have a smile on her, quick and great services.
One of the better hk style cafe/restaurant. They have good fusion and your standard typical Chinese food. Place seems to get crowed around 7-9pm.
Solid HK Cafe comfort food. Nothing too glam or glits about this place. Hits the spot though. Their beef Chow fun was pretty good though I feel like the portions can be slightly larger.
Solid HK Cafe comfort food. Nothing too glam or glits about this place. Hits the spot though. Their beef Chow fun was pretty good though I feel like the portions can be slightly larger.
This is a budget Hong Kongese style restaurant without much decor. They also serve live seafood on the side. We have been coming here frequently these past months for no better reason than the restaurant is close by wherw we live. And most of the time, the restaurant is not crowded - sitting is always available. The foods are not bad, but like other reviewers had said the menu is a little expensive for the kind of food they serve. When I come here, the only dish I ordered is the minced beef with raw egg over rice. Updated: Now they charge you 3% for all credit or debit card transaction.
Parking is off-site. Traffic in the area is heavy. There are parking meters in front and around the restaurant. The menu is rather extensive for a small place. I noticed that the American Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork, noodle dishes or kung pao chicken are super expensive as compared to purely Chinese "soul" food. I can't figure out why there is such a large gap in prices. Food is served temperature warm even though there aren't many in the restaurant and I did not observe "take-out" while I was there. Food is bland, super small portions for what you are paying and there is absolutely no service at all. It's an okay restaurant but would not go out of way to go there. Across the street on Taraval, there are much better tasting restaurants with better pricing than this restaurant.
Love the fact that this place is open late, if not mistaken 1:00AM. Whenever I'm going to be out late in the city, I know that aside from places like Mel's, I can come and eat here. The food here is decent, and the service is friendly. They are typically busy, even late at night, and I'm patient enough to wait for the food. Just be warned, that sometimes there are long wait times. I'm not just taking about a table either. Sometimes, the food takes forever. Just be aware that they are on it and that you may just have to wait a spell for it to come out. The flavor of the food is enough to make the wait worth it. S&E is not a world class restaurant, it is the corner cafe that you can go chill with your friends over a decent cuppa. If it is late, and you're near the area, then check them out. Oh, side note, if you speak Cantonese, then you will have an easier time. If you were wondering, I don't speak Cantonese. :)
The food is definitely good, but the service is really lacking. Sometimes it'll take upwards of 15 minutes after you sit down to get your tea or to make an order. Even getting the check takes a long time. If you don't mind the service the baked chicken rice plate with Portuguese sauce is really good.
Parking is off-site. Traffic in the area is heavy. There are parking meters in front and around the restaurant. The menu is rather extensive for a small place. I noticed that the American Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork, noodle dishes or kung pao chicken are super expensive as compared to purely Chinese "soul" food. I can't figure out why there is such a large gap in prices. Food is served temperature warm even though there aren't many in the restaurant and I did not observe "take-out" while I was there. Food is bland, super small portions for what you are paying and there is absolutely no service at all. It's an okay restaurant but would not go out of way to go there. Across the street on Taraval, there are much better tasting restaurants with better pricing than this restaurant.
This is a budget Hong Kongese style restaurant without much decor. They also serve live seafood on the side. We have been coming here frequently these past months for no better reason than the restaurant is close by wherw we live. And most of the time, the restaurant is not crowded - sitting is always available. The foods are not bad, but like other reviewers had said the menu is a little expensive for the kind of food they serve. When I come here, the only dish I ordered is the minced beef with raw egg over rice. Updated: Now they charge you 3% for all credit or debit card transaction.
The food is definitely good, but the service is really lacking. Sometimes it'll take upwards of 15 minutes after you sit down to get your tea or to make an order. Even getting the check takes a long time. If you don't mind the service the baked chicken rice plate with Portuguese sauce is really good.
Love the fact that this place is open late, if not mistaken 1:00AM. Whenever I'm going to be out late in the city, I know that aside from places like Mel's, I can come and eat here. The food here is decent, and the service is friendly. They are typically busy, even late at night, and I'm patient enough to wait for the food. Just be warned, that sometimes there are long wait times. I'm not just taking about a table either. Sometimes, the food takes forever. Just be aware that they are on it and that you may just have to wait a spell for it to come out. The flavor of the food is enough to make the wait worth it. S&E is not a world class restaurant, it is the corner cafe that you can go chill with your friends over a decent cuppa. If it is late, and you're near the area, then check them out. Oh, side note, if you speak Cantonese, then you will have an easier time. If you were wondering, I don't speak Cantonese. :)
Poor Service. Menu is pricey for what amounts to budget cafeteria style chinese food. They tend to forget to give you back your change. Not worth it when there are plenty of better Chinese food on Taraval.
Poor Service. Menu is pricey for what amounts to budget cafeteria style chinese food. They tend to forget to give you back your change. Not worth it when there are plenty of better Chinese food on Taraval.
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About S & E Cafe
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2406 19th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94116
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2406 19th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94116
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