Yan’s China Bistro & Bar

Walnut Creek, United States

3.6

20 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 925-944-5968
Website:
www.yanschinabistro.com
Address:
2929 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA, 94597
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miPleasant Hill
1.6 miWalnut Creek
1.7 mi1805
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Today

Today –
Local time (Walnut Creek) 14:08 Friday, 30 May 2025

Business hours

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Tuesday –
Wednesday –
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Friday –
Saturday –
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Description

Specialties

Welcome to Yan’s China Bistro & Bar, home of the best Chinese cuisine in Walnut Creek! Conveniently located in East Bay, our restaurant is dedicated to serving traditional dishes in a warm atmosphere with excellent service. Since first opening almost 20 years ago, we have focused on superior quality food made fresh daily using only the finest ingredients!

At Yan’s, we incorporate Cantonese cooking background into the Szechuan and Mandarin dishes to create more tasty and flavorful cuisine! Choose from one of our weekday lunch specials, delicious dinner entrees including the Honey Walnut Prawns, Mu Shu Pork and Chicken Lettuce Wraps, or specialty spicy dishes like Orange Flavored Chicken or Mongolian Beef with a custom sauce made from scratch!

Yan’s China Bistro & Bar has a full bar with many vintage wines and can also provide catering for meetings or parties. We invite residents and visitors alike to join us today for a unique experience that is sure to have you coming back for more!

History

Established in 2006.

In 1994, our family owned and operated restaurant opened its first location in a small shopping center in El Sobrante. From there, we built the business up from nothing by offering the freshest ingredients and tastiest Chinese food in the area.

After nearly a decade of success, we opened our second restaurant in Lafayette in 2001. This time, we took over a failing Chinese restaurant and turned it into a busy, thriving location by once again offering only high quality, delicious cuisine to nearby residents.

In October of 2006, we decided to seize the opportunity to serve our same fresh, quality and tasty foods in a beautiful location in Walnut Creek. We continue to provide the best Chinese cuisine in our new airy and modern dining room.

We are proud to be a part of so many wonderful communities and are so thankful to our loyal customers who have supported us throughout the years. We look forward to many years of continued success and hope that you will join us soon!

Meet the Business Owner

Alex Y.

Business Owner

As owner of Yan’s China Bistro & Bar, Alex Yan is an expert at running the family business. In 1994, at only 18 years old, he started working in his family’s first restaurant in order to learn the ropes. Today, Alex knows the importance of providing not only the highest quality Chinese cuisine, but also the very best in customer service. Alex, along with the entire staff, strives to ensure that everything exceeds your expectations each and every time that you visit. Check out Alex’s feature article in Diablo Magazine, then come in and say hi! From everyone here at Yan’s China Bistro & Bar, we can’t wait to meet you!

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20 reviews of Yan’s China Bistro & Bar

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Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
Not only is this my favorite Chinese restaurant, this is my all-​time favorite restaurant, period! I make a point to come to Yans every time I’m visiting my dad in Walnut Creek. The food is Amazing! Atmosphere is really nice too, which is great because sometimes the better tasting Chinese food places are not so nice inside. The service is really fast and attentive, so if your in a pinch for time, this is the place to go! We come here for birthday dinners, to grab a glass of wine and talk, or just because. Highly, highly recommend to anyone looking for some great Chinese food in the area!!!
Place rating: 1
Reno, NV
Walked in to a half full restaurant, and it took over 45 minutes to get our appetizers! To make matters worse the folks sitting next to us, who came in 20 minutes later, got their entrees etc. 10 minutes before we did. I understand that a restaurant gets busy, and things may come out late. But this was beyond ridiculous. Oh, they also make mediocre mixed drinks, and will not offer any kind of apology for mediocre service.
Place rating: 5
Brentwood, CA
Always good. Always great service. My favorite Chinese restaurant period these days. I traveled over 20 miles for dinner.
A plus plus!
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
The only good thing I can say about my chow fun and wonton soup take out is that it was ready when I picked it up 15 min after my call. Save ur money and just go to the China Palace across the street even though they take forever to cook your food. At least their food is on point.
Unfortunately I cannot say as much about this place. My chow fun was chewy and sautéed with Bok Choy. The flavor was a bit off. Not your usual chow fun. I was craving soft flat noodles with textured bean sprouts, green onions and crispy sweet onions. But this chow fun? Blah. Furthermore, my wontons were doughy and soggy which is the hallmark of overlooked reheated wonton. And the broth, normally a clear ginger chicken broth, was a strange dark brown. Just terrible.
Place rating: 2
Pleasant Hill, CA
Don’t go here for lunch. Have been eating here for years, since they opened, but today we had a horrible experience. Arrived at 2:15 p.m. and ordered chicken dumplings and two lunch specials: Lemon chicken and cashew chicken.
Only one other table was occupied, but the background music was blaring as if it was a full house. Our two entrees arrived within minutes of ordering, but what happened to our dumplings? We asked about them and our server replied, «kitchen is closing.» First of all, that is the last thing you should tell your customers when they are looking forward to a relaxing lunch. I guess if you come after 2 p. m, they are in a hurry to be done with you, because that is how we were treated. We started to eat, instead of waiting for this food to get cold, and just assumed after so long that they forgot to bring them. It was hard enough just to get water refills from our server who seemed to have disappeared again.
Halfway through our meal, the dumplings finally arrive, lukewarm. I guess they don’t seem to care that normally people like to eat their appetizers (preferably hot), PRIOR to their main dish. Funny, I thought this was universally known. Guess not.
When we finally got more water, our server started clearing our plates, while we were still eating. Yes, I said while we were still eating. I have never felt more uncomfortable or rushed at a restaurant in my life. We finally just gave up and left, because we just couldn’t tolerate this anymore.
This restaurant should be ashamed of themselves for behaving this way. There are so many other Chinese restaurants out there to go to! It just feels like these people could care less whether you come here or not, based on their behavior.
The food was good, but not great, and certainly not worth our returning again.
Place rating: 5
Vallejo, CA
I love this place! Used to go to the one in Alamo when it was still there they have very fair priced lunch specials and the food is delicious! Mongolian Lamb is my favorite. Very friendly, attentive staff as well. 5 stars
Place rating: 4
Oakland, CA
Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but this place is pretty solid. The inside was clean, casual, and pleasant. The service was great and attentive and from multiple people, which I like.
The menu is pretty basic, but they do offer some cool unique dishes.
I’d say the food overall was good, fresh, nicely flavored, and plentiful. I tend to favor small hole in the wall Chinese spots in the cities, and not just because they’re in the cities, or because they’re hole in the walls, but because the food is consistently better. Having said that, if you’re in Walnut Creek and looking for a good plate of honey walnut prawns with cloth napkins, then give this place a try.
Plenty of parking in lot behind building.
I’m sure I’ll be back.
Place rating: 3
Lafayette, CA
(3.5)
Ok so the first couple times I went here I really liked it, hence the reason I suggested me and my girls go here for our bday dinner. However, our experience was a little shaky. The waitresses were very spacey and not attentive. Food was not as good as I remembered either – kinda greasy. I have had good experiences here though and I do remember really liking the veggie clay pot so I may give it another go. The drinks are good and I really like the ambiance.
Place rating: 4
Manteca, CA
Great food. Good customer service. Only thing is the food is very expensive.
The décor and ambiance is nice too.
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
Rude staff. If the sign says open & you welcome the customer inside, extend courtesy. I arrived at 8:49 PM – 11 minutes before closing. Server charged up to my table the second I sat down & demanded I order now. When I asked if I could look at the menu first, she became angry, & stood there snorting like a mad bull. Of course I left. If the kitchen is closing, take the open sign down!
Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
Alex is amazing! I brought him fresh Halibut from Alaska and the dish he made was unbelievable! If you want great food go to Yan’s. The owner is a great person and his food never disappoints.
Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
I have never been a big fan of Chinese food but this restaurant is the exception, they are awesome! Their food is clean, freshly prepared and very tasty. Their service is excellent and a very friendly staff. There is ample parking in the rear parking lot so you don’t have to worry about the extremely over-​aggressive Walnut Creek traffic enforcement Gestapo giving you a parking ticket.
They have a full bar and make excellent drinks but what really sets them apart is their wide selection of fine wines and their sample tastings you can buy so you can try several different types of wines. This is the best hidden secret in Walnut Creek for fine Chinese dining.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
I eat at Yan’s quite a bit and have never been disappointed. There Mongolian Beef is probably the best I have every had and I also love the Chicken and Asparagus (ask for it a little spicy). The décor is very nice and the staff is attentive.
Place rating: 5
Reno, NV
Not my first visit! I’m visiting out of town but have been here at least 7 times in 1014. BEST Chinese restaurant in the area down to Pleasanton too!
I live out of the area now but discovered this gem during a invite for a company wine tasting. During the 20 glass wine tasting (corporate), numerous samples of menu items were offered. I paced myself but was sold on the tendernous of the beef, clean taste of the chicken and freshness of the shrimp sample plates. Unbelievable how good this restaurant is.
Do you enjoy wine? Well, there are over 500 wines which you can order by the bottle at the price the owner purchased to the specific year. NO increase to the bottle. Ask for the list. Your welcome!
EVERY time I visit, I dine in or take out.
Oh, the bar area is small BUT a nice spot to dine, have a glass of wine, watch a game and chat with the owner.
If you live in Alamo, Blackhawk or Danville… this restaurant will beat all the others!!!
Place rating: 1
Walnut Creek, CA
Ordered a vegetarian dish tonight and they put it in chicken sauce. When he looked at it he said «it’s ok, it tastes better this way». They took it back without any questions but merely rinsed off the chicken sauce off instead of making a new dish. When I tried it eat it, it was greasy and tasted horrible. Why doesn’t a restaurant understand that they can’t do that!
This is the 10th time I have gone here and now the last.
Place rating: 4
Clayton, CA
Well, so far, I’m certainly a fan.
After getting off from work and being completely exhausted, you can certainly say I was not in the mood for doing any sort of cooking. So with that being said, I grabbed my fiancé and suggested we go to Yans; mostly considering that we were both in the mood for Chinese, and I had been curious of checking them out for a while.
We arrived around 6 ish. They have street parking available in the front, as well as a private parking lot around the back of the restaurant. We parked in the back.
The restaurant if quite nice, providing plenty of seating, accompanied with a beautiful full bar. We were seated at a table within the bar area.
For drinks, being I was in a cocktail mood, and being they had provided a pretty decent cocktail menu, I ended up going with their Lychee Martini ($ 6.00). My honey went with a coke. Their menu provides most of your standard popular Chinese dishes. I ended up going with the Chicken and Vegetables in a light garlic sauce. He ordered the Broccoli beef and Chicken Chow Mein. All ala carte, being it was the evening.
Dishes arrived quickly, and were presented well. My Chicken and Vegetable turned out excellent! The garlic sauce was light and delicate, though not lacking in savory flavor. Chicken was cooked perfectly, as well as the vegetables. I had a bite or two of the Chicken Chow Mein, and for someone who isnt a big chow mein eater, I thought it was absolutely delicious.
Service was prompt and friendly.
I’ve already been back since, and will certainly be back again.
Place rating: 3
Beverly Hills, CA
FOOD: is fairly good, especially for the Walnut Creek/​Pleasant Hill area. Their staples are fine, but nothing is amazing.
SERVICE: is quite prompt and friendly. The attend to you quickly and pay attention.
AMBIANCE: is a little nicer than most Chinese restaurants. There is also a bar with television and some outdoor seating. Parking is convenient in their private lot.
VALUE: pretty good for what you get. Most people can eat for around $ 10.
Place rating: 4
Walnut Creek, CA
Don’t be fooled by the shabby exterior, the inside has been completely remodeled with a nice modern touch. Definitely one of the better Chinese restaurants around. Fully stocked bar and a TV for your viewing pleasure. The staff is great and attentive.
This time around I recommend Yans to my company for Case Management Week (bosses treat). They arrived on time and service was great.
Our luncheon included:
Kung Pao Chicken
Sweet & Sour Pork
Broccoli Beef
Chicken Chow-​mein
Kung Pao Prawns
Spring Rolls
Steam White Rice
Mixed Veggies
I tried them all, delicious! When I go on my own a favorite Schezwan chicken.
Place rating: 4
Antioch, CA
I think it’s slightly more pricier than other Chinese restaurants I’ve been to by at least $ 2 per entrée. I only had the orange chicken and rice lunch special which I enjoyed. The chicken was slightly greasy. Well, I actually couldn’t tell if it was grease or sauce which is unfortunate. I ate it anyway.
I wanted to replace the rice with chow mein but that wasn’t an option. I wish they would be more accommodating when it comes to switching out things…
I’ll be back to try the combo chow mein because that’s what I’m a sucker for in all Chinese restaurants. :)
Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
I rarely eat Chinese food, but when I do, I come here! Huge portions and I love their mongolian lamb and beef! We have tried a bunch of other things on their menu and everything has been good.
I am giving 5 stars because we come here for food, but if I rated their bar, their drinks aren’t the best in my opinion.