The best places to eat in Chinatown, San Francisco

I’ve called Chinatown in San Francisco home for the better 5 years, and with that has come a lot of calories, below is a shortie on my favorite places in the neighborhood, there may be others that people like, but these hit really well for me and the people I show around town. I don’t claim for authenticity, I’m not Chinese or from San Francisco originally btw, but I have eaten at most restaurants :)

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Late night with the doordashers

Taishan Cuisine · 781 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

Taishan Cuisine

781 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

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There is only one restaurant in Chinatown that operates after 1am, and that is Taishan Cusine on broadway. The taishan moniker is applied actually to a few restaurants in Chinatown, and all relate to a county in Guangdong that many of the original migrants to chinatown come from. The restaurants are also owned by the same people, but don’t be fooled, they all have different chefs and all slightly different menus. If you want the best of them, you gotta go to the one on broadway. Here you can get some American Chinese food and dim sum, but please don’t actually get it, it’s OK, get the Taishanese cuisine, it’s really special and spectacular, I would recommend the clay pot rice with kohlrabi and the roasted chicken, that enough could feed a group of 4, more hungry, get the fried noodles with pork or the beef stew.

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For Dim Sum and Dinner too

Lai Hong Lounge · 1416 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

Lai Hong Lounge

1416 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

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The first time I ever ate here, I actually was passing by, but I saw two elderly men fight for a spot on a waitlist, so I had to know what was up. Lai Hong Lounge on weekend mornings is a cacophony of people, food and noise that feels all too comforting for a guy who enjoys weaving through rush hour traffic on a bike. The seats are tightly packed and it’s hard to move, though your face will be on that plate anyway. The food is excellent, fast and affordable. During brunch hours the dim sum runs fast and tables churn pretty often, a 15 person wait may be around 30 minutes or so. Do try the XO stir fried turnip cakes, har gow and the fish rice roll.

Now if you come for dinner on a weekday it’s almost a ghost town, you might see one or two tables, but don’t be confused they try very hard to still serve up quality American Chinese food for dinner. Get the walnut shrimp, sweet and sour chicken or fried rice and you won’t be disappointed, they also make pretty good cantonese fare but strangely enough, I feel like chinatown is pretty bereft in good American Chinese food (see my rant on meat to bread ratio), so I would suggest indulging a little, especially since most of my recs will not be for American Chinese food.

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Early morning in Hong Kong

VIP Coffee & Cake Shop · 671 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

VIP Coffee & Cake Shop

671 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

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A place I hit up before heading to work is VIP Coffee and Cafe, a nondescript restaurant on broadway, when entering feels like you’ve been transported to a breakfast sport in the alleys of admiralty with a mix of old and young office workers. The 7.99$ combo with entree, bread and drink is the way to go, but you can always order al la carte. The food really reminds of those low brow Hong Kong breakfast spots and the price hits as well. I usually get the macaroni soup and add sriracha because it is a bit plain. This shouldn’t be your first stop in chinatown, but if you’re staying a few days, you should come around.

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Sweet Sweet Meat

Kam Po Kitchen · 801 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

Kam Po Kitchen

801 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

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There's always a special place in my heart for Kam Po, and I'm pretty sure it's literaly in my heart because of all the meat I consumed from there. Kam Po is simple, it is cash only, it has endless meat and its very good. I would recommend the pork and duck combo.

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Dim sum to go

Dim Sum Bistro · 675 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

Dim Sum Bistro

675 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States

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There’s many togo dim sum spots in Chinatown and for most places you can’t really go wrong to get something decent. My favorite though has to be on Broadway, at dim sum bistro. They take credit card and allow for pickup via DoorDash or uberEats. It’s a little more expensive (still, cheap) than most places, but it’s much higher quality. The classics are good here, har gow Sui mai and BBQ pork buns.

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Wings

New Golden Daisy · 1041 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

New Golden Daisy

1041 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

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If you ever come to chinatown on the weekend you’ll see this very long line for a dim sum spot that I will not name, it is pretty good, but it’s already famous, so I don’t need to give it more rep. Next to it though is a place to get incredibly delectable salt and pepper wings, bring a fiver and you’ll be set!