We shared what we were comfortable sharing in this post.

We had a wonderful run and over the course of our 12+ years in business, we accumulated awards, made friends, found community, catered meaningful milestones, and had lines around the block regularly. We are grateful for your continued support and kindness. It’s not the end! Follow LDC and Storm Now on Instagram for updates.

Our closure was not caused by any factors other than personal, familial reason. We will not answer any questions on the topic. Thank you for respecting our privacy.

It’s not the end! Follow LDC and Storm Now on Instagram for updates. There might be pop ups and a cookbook on the horizon…

To inquire about reserving our entire space for your gathering for a couple hours or the whole evening, email us with your name, contact info, party size, date, time, and any other details at hello@liondancecafe.com.

We value your interest and look forward to communicating about your special event. We appreciate your patience and will respond as soon as possible!

Email us at hello@liondancecafe.com .

We care about your experience and will respond as soon as we are able.

Please do not send us several messages across platforms just because we didn’t respond immediately as this will slow down our response time rather than expedite it (and will not be appreciated, honestly).

We do not have a public phone number as we are human beings who deserve privacy and boundaries, just like you.

We do not.

Here are articles that illustrate some of our reasons for not working with 3rd party delivery apps: SF Gate, Food & Wine, Eater, New Yorker, New York Times.

For large orders or catering inquiries, contact us at least 72 hours ahead of time with your name, contact info, order, any allergies, preferred date and time and any other relevant info at hello@liondancecafe.com.

Due to our small size, the more lead time we receive the more likely we will be able to best take care of your request, especially for larger events.

Please inquire by email regarding buyout inquiries as well.

We appreciate your interest and will respond as soon as possible.

By dining with us, all diners agree to observing all our house guidelines, treat our team, neighbors, and space with respect and kindness.

Our very extensive FAQ here lays out behaviors that are deemed acceptable or disrespectful of our space and efforts, including BYO policies etc. It is public for all to see, and so it is on potential customers to inform themselves ahead of time, and to reach out reasonably ahead should they have any questions not already answered here in depth.

We have a zero tolerance policy against harassment, discrimination, aggression and any other hostile behaviors towards our workers, other guests or neighbors.

Never touch, photograph or record members of our team without their explicit and clear consent.

Please only use they/them pronouns as a default when referring to our team, unless you know their individual personal pronouns.

Never sexually harass our staff or make suggestive remarks towards them, or about them within earshot. They are doing their job, not flirting with you. They deserve to feel safe and comfortable in their work space.

We reserve the right to remove and ban any guest displaying any disruptive, disrespectful or threatening behavior without a refund or further explanation.

We are at 380-382 17th St, in downtown Oakland, CA 94612, in between Franklin and Webster Streets. Look for the double storefront with the large lion dancers painted on the windows!

We are just a block and half away from 19th St BART station, very close to several bus stops, the Paramount and Fox theaters, and only 3 short blocks away from iconic Lake Merritt.

Like all surrounding businesses we do not have a designated parking area nor valet parking, however we are in the heart of downtown Oakland near many parking lots/garages, and street parking is free after 6pm.

For a limited time, the city of Oakland is running the “5 after 5” parking program. Click here to learn more.

As with any busy area we strongly advise against leaving any valuables or belongings inside your car, even concealed.

Square , the processor we use, accepts most cards .

BYO FOOD/DRINK IS NOT PERMITTED.

We offer a list of drinks by the glass or bottle curated to go perfectly with our food menu and consistently by our sourcing standards, including house-made sodas and delicious low to no alcohol seasonal cocktails, AAPI made seltzers and teas, local beers, and fully vegan wines made by experts traditionally underrepresented in their fields (LGBTQIA+, women, and/or makers who are Black, Indigenous, POC).

However should you wish to enjoy a special bottle of your choice you may do so for a fee of $35 per bottle, limited to 2 bottles per party (not per guest).

We are a private business that functions by selling food we make, not a random picnic area in a public park. We do not allow any other type of BYO / outside food / outside drinks, NO exceptions.

There are over 22+ other hours in the day to eat or drink whatever, outside of our space. Customers who act disrespectfully will be asked to leave immediately with no refund, and will not be welcome back.

NO, outside food and drinks including desserts are never permitted on our premises. We serve our own housemade desserts, if intending to enjoy desserts purchased elsewhere, you will be asked to do so elsewhere.

We gladly comply with ADA guidelines and have ADA seating available. Kindly notify us by making a note at booking or by emailing us at hello@liondancecafe.com ahead of time to ensure availability.

We look forward to welcoming you!

We welcome children who will enjoy the type of dining that we offer, and who won’t compromise the enjoyment of other guests by their behavior.

As a restaurant (hot plates, knives etc) children MUST be supervised closely by their guardians at all times, with no exceptions. We love kids! But it is not our staff’s job to look after our guests’ children under any circumstances.

We will not be liable for any incident caused by the child’s actions or negligence of the child’s guardian.

We are a very small space, and have one high chair available. If bringing your own high chair or stroller, do let us know ahead of time and be mindful of the fact that other diners need sufficient space too, and that walkways must be kept clear at all times for the safety of all.

We do not owe you the extra space if it compromises anyone’s else’s enjoyment or safety, or our staff’s ability to do their jobs with the ease they deserve.

We have every right to refuse service to any guests or party that behaves irresponsibly, disrespectfully, disruptively, or in a way that endangers themself, other guests or our staff.

We love dogs but there are some guidelines to accommodating our furry friends safely and comfortably!

While officially certified, properly trained service dogs are permitted by law, emotional support animals and pets are not.

They are only allowed in our outdoor parklet under the following conditions:

• they are well behaved, safe to be in this situation for themselves and all around them

• there are no other dogs already present (space is limited and we have the right to prioritize the comfort and safety of our diners and staff)

• Leashes at all times are a condition for all dogs and everyone’s safety. NO EXCEPTIONS.

• Dogs must be closely supervised at all times by their guardian and not interfere with the enjoyment of other guests or our staff’s ability to do their jobs safely and efficiently.

We do not have dog bowls, dog treats, etc. and for sanitary reasons we will not handle your dog bowl or accessories.

Your dog is your responsibility and not LDC’s. Our staff may not care for or watch over your dog for you under any circumstances.

Very large dogs may prevent us from seating our full capacity as we are a very small space. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and judgment.

We reserve the right to determine if a disruptive or disrespectful guest or guest that endangers themself or others by their behavior may need to leave.

We opened during the first year of the pandemic and are still very cautious! Despite daily requests, it took us over 2 years to begin considering this form of dine-in. Here are some of our measures:

• Our team is vaccinated and gets tested regularly, and we kindly request that all guests be vaccinated and have recently tested negative too.

• Please wear a mask when not eating or drinking, and whenever waiting or getting up from your table.

• Tables are spaced and capacity is limited.

• Surfaces and common areas are sanitized frequently and in between seatings.

• Hand sanitizer is available for your comfort.

• Our HVAC system is running anytime anyone is in the building.

• Limited outdoor parklet seating available upon request. Please leave a note at checkout or email us ahead of your reservation.

Simply email us at hello@liondancecafe.com with your name and a description of the item as well as when it was left behind.

We will check with our team to see if we can locate it, and follow up with you. You will then be invited to come collect it ASAP, during our service hours.

Due to the volume of items left behind we will not keep your personal effects for longer than 4 business days, no exceptions.

Lion Dance Cafe and its employees and representatives are not responsible for anything that may happen to your personal items (damage, theft etc).

Produce:

Our produce is sourced locally. We support independent farmers and personally hand pick the freshest produce to cook with for you at our local farmers’ markets several times a week, follow our stories on IG @liondancecafe to see our hauls!

Markets include the South Berkeley Farmers’s market on Tuesdays, San Rafael on Thursdays, Old Oakland / Chinatown on Fridays, and Grand Lake on Saturdays.

Some of our favorite farms and produce purveyors are Kay Lee farms, Lee produce, Xiong farms, Vic Pham farms, Rodriguez farms, Rainbow Orchards, Good Faith farms, Full Belly farms, Dirty Girl produce, Winter Fruit Tree, Oya Organics, Twin Girls farms, Far West Fungi, King of Mushrooms, Iacopi farms, Cooks Company Produce, and more.

Soy Milk, Yuba and Tofu:

We get our fresh soy milk, tofu and yuba locally from Hodo.

Dulse:

We purchase the deeply flavorful sea vegetable, used to bring umami to our dishes, from Oregon Seaweed.

Flour:

Our fresh pasta is handmade in house daily using local organic heirloom Iraqi durum wheat from Full Belly farms. It lends a pleasant chewiness when cooked al dente, and a sweet, nutty, malty, almost chocolate-like flavor.

For our sourdough shaobing (sesame bread), we use Full Belly Farms rouge de Bordeaux organic heirloom flour for its earthiness and Central Milling t80 high protein flour.

Our pandan butter nian gao is made using Koda Farms mochiko.

Beans:

Depending on the variety and the season, our beans come from Dirty Girl Produce or Iacopi Farms.

Olive oil & Truffle oil:

We source extra virgin olive oil and olives from Good Faith Farms, and sometimes Big Paw or other companies we can find at our local markets.

Our truffle oil comes from Far West Fungi.

Nuts:

We look to Winters Fruit Tree for flavor-packed walnuts, pistachios and more.

Spices:

Oaktown Spice Shop and Diaspora Co are our go-to’s for wonderful and responsibly sourced spices.

Vegan Cheese:

When we aren’t experimenting with making our own, we serve vegan cheese made by Bandit , a POC owned small batch company in Philadelphia using ethically sourced cashews from Red River Foods.

Drinks:

Our commitment to quality and thoughtful sourcing extends to our beverage list. We feature:

- local beer from our friend at Calicraft Brewing, and Berkeley-based Trumer.

-our non-alcoholic beer comes from community-minded Athletic Brewing Co.

-we carry fruit flavored sparkling water from AAPI owned Sanzo.

-our vermouth comes from Rockwell Vermouth and is made in California using native herbs and spices.

-our wines are natural, vegan, and all crafted by makers systemically underrepresented in their fields (women / POC / LGBTQIA+). And importantly, they taste great! Our wine list rotates, examples of winemakers we work with are Terah Wine, Free Range Flower Winery, Domaine Karim & Noémie Vionnet, to name a few.

Nearly everything we offer is made in house by our small team using intentionally sourced high quality ingredients, including:

• most famously, our breads, such as our vegan coconut milk bread and signature shaobing (our sourdough sesame crusted bread, made fresh daily in house and used in our famous sandwiches; read about it: New York Times / SF Weekly / SF Chronicle / Berkeleyside)

• in addition to seasonal ferments and pickles that go into our food, we proudly make all our staple preserves in house including: douchi, doubanjiang, koji, taucheo, fermented aminos, taucheo…

• our wheat noodles and pastas, and all wheat and rice/starch based kuehs

• sambals (Southeast Asian chili sauces)

• rempahs (complex spices pastes at the base of dishes such as our la…

• our wheat noodles and pastas, and all wheat and rice/starch based kuehs

• chili oils and crisps, fried shallots, shallot oil, smoked ingredients, infused oils, sodas and syrups, pandan extract from fresh pandan leaves, dumplings…

• when featured, our douhua (silken tofu, made from fresh local Hodo soy milk), seitan aka “wheat meat”, and tempeh.

… and much more. It’s a lot of effort, care, labor, experience, sleepless nights and naturally, more expensive compared to using low-quality low-flavor mass-produced ingredients that come in excessive amounts of plastic packaging but so worth it.

“Nothing on the menu is spicy enough” - CY, co-owner.

It actually really depends on your spice tolerance! The same dish could be very hot for some and not at all for others.

On top of that, everyone tends to have a different type of “heat” they are more used to -if you’ve never had Sichuan peppercorns for instance, they have an extremely pleasing and playful tingly/tongue-numbing quality, that may barely register for some but feel like a lot to others.

We are known to love very spicy and tingly food personally, and though we do opt for a spice level that is more accessible to most diners for our dishes, chilies and other forms of heat in various usages are a staple in our kitchen and the spice level cannot be adjusted upon request.

So if you enjoy spice, then you might even find the food mild! Order an extra side of sambal or chili oil to go with your meal.

If it is a concern on the other hand, our dining room team will be happy to guide you through the milder but just as flavorful dishes on our menu and answer any questions you have.

Please note that dishes cannot be modified.

Our restaurant is fully vegan, and the majority of the menu is free of gluten-containing ingredients by default.

We kindly decline all requests for any substitutions and modifications. 

Out of precaution we have to decline service to anyone at risk of experiencing severe allergic reactions for their own safety, no exceptions.

Out of precaution we have to decline service to anyone at risk of experiencing severe allergic reactions for their own safety, no exceptions.

Here is an interactive version of our menu that allows filtering by allergens. However it doesn’t show any of the mods we can sometimes offer -please always contact us ahead (and/or let our staff know) of any dietary restrictions you may have as we might be able to accommodate beyond what is visible on there.

Common allergens in our food:

• Alliums (garlic, shallots etc) and soy in various forms are heritage staples in our sweet and savory cooking and are found in nearly all our dishes. Our menu is not designed to accommodate soy and allium free diets.

• “GF” denotes gluten free dishes. Our menu is always vastly GF friendly. Do note that we bake bread and make fresh pasta in house daily so we are not a wheat free environment.

• Nuts: Other than coconut, the only nuts we use regularly are peanuts and almonds (in our cookies). Seasonal dishes may contain other nuts such as pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts… When present, these are always clearly marked in our dish descriptions. We are not a nut free environment.

• Seeds: Pumpkin seeds are present in most of our rempah-based dishes such as laksa and rendang. They cannot be left out upon request. Sesame is used in paste, oil, and seed form in many dishes. We are not a seed free environment.

Please email us at hello@liondancecafe.com if you have any questions about specific allergens or ingredients that aren’t already marked and listed on our menu such as sea vegetables, mushrooms etc.

Please note that while our kitchen is fully vegan and most dishes are prepared without gluten-based ingredients, we store and use wheat, seeds, peanuts and other common allergens. Cross contamination may occur despite our fundamental commitment to proper food preparation, sanitation and storage guidelines.

Some allergens (such as tree nuts) that we do not stock may still be present in trace amounts because of how ingredients are processed, packed and stored by manufacturers and suppliers before they even reach us.

For these reasons we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment. Out of precaution we have to decline service to anyone at risk of experiencing severe allergic reactions for their own safety, no exceptions.

The short answer is no.

We are a vegan place with a love of alliums and soy. These are staples in nearly every dish, and staples in our families’ cooking that many of our recipes are rooted in. They cannot be left out upon request. See previous FAQ about allergens for more info.

Yes! We are a vegan-owned business and our menu is completely vegan aka free of animal products. No honey, dairy, eggs, meat, seafood, gelatin etc. are stored in our kitchen or used in any of our dishes.

We enthusiastically welcome drinkers and non-drinkers alike and our team will gladly assist you with non-alcoholic drink recommendations if that is your preference.

While we put a lot of thought into our wine and beer lists, we also offer a selection of non-alcoholic beer, tea, fruity sparkling waters, house sodas, and drinking soy milk.

Due to our small size we are not currently accepting catering requests to focus on developing a sustainable, welcoming ecosystem here in our dining room. Please email us if you wish to inquire about hosting your event in our space!

An array of short and long sleeve tee shirts, locally screen printed on 100% cotton using water-based inks, as well as enamel pins, stickers, watercolor postcards and more are avalaible in store. Ask your server or host during your next visit!

Currently we do not ship.

Click here for the meaning behind 舞狮咖啡座.

Lion Dance Cafe is independently owned and operated by chefs and co-owners C-Y Chia (they/them) and Shane Stanbridge (he/him).

Prior to opening their critically acclaimed brick and mortar in September of 2020, they ran S+M Vegan, their award-winning pop up, for over 7 years where they got to refine their concept, cultivate an expanding audience, and build on the experience they gained from their time in various highly celebrated restaurant kitchens.

Their unique shared perspective and sensibility stems from their combined Teochew Chinese, Singaporean, French, and Italian backgrounds, lived experiences as cooks who are also queer, neurodivergent, (and in C-Y’s case, immigrant) persons, as well as a passion to honor locally grown seasonal produce in all its forms -fresh, fermented, cooked- and a drive to extend care and hospitality to more than just their valued customers.

We opened in September 2020 during the first wave of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Before then, we were a longstanding award-winning pop up and caterer since 2013 (!!!) under the name S+M Vegan (IG / site), and before that, we worked in some of the most exciting restaurants in different cities.

LDC is proudly queer owned and operated, and many of our staff identify as queer, trans, and/or nonbinary.

Yup! Shane and C-Y have each been vegan for nearly two decades.

Yup. Proudly so!

Co-owner C-Y is a mixed Singaporean-born Chinese immigrant, and co-owner Shane is Italian-Californian.

We have spoken passionately and abundantly over the years about how our food is “Authentic not traditional” because it is so deeply personal, and never ever pretends to represent the entire culinary scape of any of our backgrounds (please check out some of the many articles we were lucky to be featured in for much much more on that topic).

So expect flavor-packed food cooked straight from the heart, and informed by our heritages, rather than a carbon copy of anything you may have had elsewhere!

Singapore is an equatorial Southeast Asian island known for its flavor-packed cuisine informed by its Malay, Indonesian, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan and Eurasian populations. Hawker centres with their stalls specialized in wok-kissed stir fried dishes, aromatic noodle soups, nostalgic sweets… are the Singaporean equivalent of street food.

Teochews, from the Chaoshan region of Southeast China, make up one of the largest Chinese groups in Singapore in Southeast Asia. Their contributions to the Singaporean culinary scape include chwee kueh, satay beehoon, png kueh, popiah, char kway teow and more.

Lion Dance Cafe co-owner C-Y’s family is Teochew-Singaporean and our menus reflect this heritage while embracing local ingredients and influences, and paying homage to the creative cooking of the Chinese-American diaspora that paved the way for us.

True to our S+M Vegan pop up days, our food at 舞狮咖啡座 continues to tell our stories without claiming to be the one definitive representation of our cultures’ cuisines. “Authentic, not traditional”.

Meatless cooking has been repeatedly proven to be significantly less resource-intensive than conventional animal-byproduct-heavy productions. We also consider the working conditions of manufacturing and agricultural companies when sourcing our ingredients.

Some of our other sustainability efforts include:

• Our electricity is sourced from 100% carbon-free and renewable energy through EBCE’s Renewable 100 plan. 

• Many our utensils and takeout containers are compostable and we are always looking for better, affordable, more sustainable alternatives.

• Low food waste. We carefully estimate how much we can sell to avoid overproduction and share excess food through local mutual aid initiatives and compost what can’t be (re)used.

• We are a minimal single-use plastics kitchen.

• We prioritize sourcing from local family farms, companies and manufacturers, and buy in bulk (or make the product ourselves) when possible to avoid excessive single-use packaging.

• To us, sustainability also includes considering our impact on our neighborhood as well as our team’s working conditions. We pay our employees above minimum wage with the same starting rate across all positions, and treat them with dignity. We provide mutual aid meals at no charge to our marginalized neighbors upon request, and participate in numerous local fundraising events and community initiatives, and work with Mandela Partners ReGenerate Training as well as Community Kitchen Oakland’s Dine for Justice program.

• We extend that approach to sourcing our beer and wine. Our list is vegan, certified natural, and from makers historically marginalized in their field (women/ POC/ LGBTQIA+). And all delicious.

Improving the kind of impact we have on our environment is an ongoing project. Email us with any ideas or opportunities!

We’re surrounded with so many incredible artists and don’t have opportunities to collaborate with nearly enough!

Here are some that we have worked with, or still work with:

• Saint Flora: delivers gorgeous floral arrangements every other week.

• Ariana Zhang: responsible for the vibrant collages and most of the stenciling around the restaurant, as well as our printed menu template, a lot of our food photography and more.

• Dana M Chang: food photography and portraits

• Emma K Creative: food and interior photography, portraits

• Caha Design: this amazing team constructed our outdoor parklet. Learn more about our parklet here!

• Rise Above: all our screen printing needs

• June Box: did our eye-catching window stencils

• Daphne Wu: helped us lots with setting up our websites

• OpenDaily: logos and visual identity