Kenny's Cafe — Restaurant in Pacifica

Two minutes away from Panda Express, but lightyears away in terms of quality and flavor!!! Don't bother with Panda, THIS is where you want to go!!!

*Update

I was eating at another restaurant recently and overheard a conversation about their opinions of local restaurants. One guy said to another, "have you tried Kenny's? I like that place." The other said, "I'll never eat there. It's a dive." I thought that was unfair. Just because it doesn't (look) like a Michelin Star restaurant, doesn't mean the food is no good. I'm not sure what that person's criteria is, but Kenny's is definitely NOT a dive! I lived in SF's Chinatown district and would say Kenny's is somewhat typical of any Chinese place (functional and sparsely decorated). The building used to be a supermarket, but is now multiple businesses.

I've had many different dishes here and haven't been disappointed once! Weirdly, they also serve American dishes like cheeseburgers and sandwiches (presumably to satisfy picky kids).

By the way, my opinion is coming from being an SF native who grew up eating in Chinatown! Try their Wor Wonton soup! It's absolutely DELICIOUS!!!

About the cheeseburger...Yes, a Chinese restaurant that has cheeseburgers on the menu? I was skeptical, so I had to try it! Mind you, they're extra cautious about their customers, so they won't serve it "medium" unless you specifically ask for it that way. It comes "medium-well" to "well" if you don't say anything. It wasn't bad.

So far I've eaten here at least 40 times and will continue to! Trust me, this place is GOOD!

Another reviewer said their food is bland. Bland??? I suppose if you're used to food loaded to the gills with MSG and a TON of salt, then maybe one might interpret it to lack a heart attack inducing level of "taste". LOL In my opinion, it's seasoned just right and tastes fresh and crisp. They're not trying to hide any deficiencies with lots of seasonings!!!

I highly...

High Celery Content, Low spice

We ordered 3 dishes from the dinner for two. On the plus side, the fried rice alone was enough for two of us. However the vegetarian egg rolls were heavy on celery (which I dont care to eat). The egg rolls were a bit unusual in that they are regular wonton wrappers that were then breaded and deep fried. The crispy outer shell was a nice change, but the oil it was fried in had overtones of a gamut of other things fried in the same oil. And the filling was about 45% celery. In addition, this preparation method left the inner egg roll limp and oily.

We also ordered Mongolian Beef and Chicken in Spicy garlic sauce. We asked that both be prepared hot and spicy. Both were rather bland. Both also had a high celery content. The beef in the Mongolian dish was tender, but tasted like it was originally intended for a stroganoff dish - it tasted very much like Worcestershire. The hot and sour soup starter was tasty. Could have used a bit more heat and sour, but we ate it all... which we can't say about every rendition of that soup.

The specials the night we were there included prime rib. The menu caters to Americans, and that is probably a clue that the Chinese food is toned down, too.

The service was good and attentive, and the portions very generous... but way, way too much celery and not enough heat in the red letter spicy dishes for my taste. Extra spice can be added from a squeeze bottle of what appeared to be red pepper paste, but it proved very heavy on vinegar.

All in all the soup and pork fried rice would have made a decent meal for two, but the bland, celery-heavy main dishes were...

So good. We were headed back to Pacifica and looking for dinner. Only in town a week. Kenny's matched our search parameters so we decided to give it a go. Right off the bat, we were welcomed and given suggestions on how to order. Throughout the meal the staff was friendly, helpful and attentive. For appetizers we ordered spring rolls, egg rolls, and crab rangoon's. All 3 were very good. The egg rolls were bigger around than what we're used to and they were piping hot inside. For entrees, we ordered kung pow beef, orange chicken, shrimp in lobster sauce, beef low mein, scallops & beef on a sizzling skillet, chicken fried rice, and a ham & cheese sandwich. Every Asian dish was the best I've ever had it. Kenny's put our usual restaurant to shame. Each one had it's own touch that made it unique, yet better than your run of the mill Chinese place. The chicken in the fried rice was juicy and tender. I expected rubbery and dry. Had to tell the kids to stop digging through the rice and stealing the chicken. The veggies in all the dishes were crisp, not over cooked and mushy. The decor was dated, but clean. The more I've thought about it, the less I cared. When a place prepares food like this, the look of the place falls away. If we lived in Pacifica, Kenny's would be our go...