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17 Scintillating Chinese Restaurants in San Francisco

The best soup dumplings, Cantonese barbecue, and hand-pulled noodles across San Francisco

by Paolo Bicchieri, Dianne de Guzman, and Eater Staff Updated Dec 21, 2022, 1:00pm PST

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by Paolo Bicchieri, Dianne de Guzman, and Eater Staff Updated Dec 21, 2022, 1:00pm PST

1 comment / new

Lindsey Txakeeyang

It’s classic: Come Christmas Day, many throughout the United States work through mountains of gorgeous, rich Chinese food. Those in San Francisco find themselves in a proper embarrassment of riches when it comes to where they ought to place their orders, though. Is it better to opt for something a bit newer, a restaurant like Mister Jiu’s that pays homage to those hanging ducks in so many Chinatown storefront windows? Or go for the neighborhood staple that even your grandparents ate at, a restaurant like Peking Restaurant on Noriega Street that just joined the Legacy Business Registry?

Wonderfully, there’s no need to get all King Solomon about it. Here are the 17 go-to restaurants to try for any fan of Chinese cuisine in San Francisco. If you’re looking for a more dim sum/dumpling-specific San Francisco map, go ahead and copy this one down.

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Hakka Restaurant 客家山莊

Often described as a kind of soulful cousin to Cantonese food, the cuisine of China’s migratory Hakka people abounds with pickled vegetables and slow-cooked meats. This homey Outer Richmond restaurant is a great place to get hooked on these rustic, comforting flavors. Must-order dishes include salt-baked chicken, clams stir-fried with basil, and braised pork belly with shrimp paste.

Open in Google Maps

4401 Cabrillo St, San Francisco, CA 94121

The outside of a restaurant. — Hakka Restaurant doesn’t mess around when it comes to braised pork belly.

Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant 老北京

On cold nights prior to the pandemic, many of the regulars who’d crowd the small, scruffy dining room at Old Mandarin Islamic would order one of the spicy Beijing-style hot pots. In general, the restaurant, which specializes in Chinese Muslim cuisine, is a great place to feast on lamb — stir-fried with cumin, braised, or boiled in a clay pot. Chili-heads will want to test their endurance against the side dish/condiment known as la si ni, or “spice you to death.”

Open in Google Maps

3132 Vicente St, San Francisco, CA 94116

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Old Mandarin Islamic Rest (@oldmandarinislamic) on Apr 26, 2020 at 6:13pm PDT

Shanghai House Restaurant 家家福

San Francisco is gifted with an abundance of solid Shanghainese restaurants, and Shanghai House is one of the most consistently enjoyable, known for its steamers of thin-skinned, appropriately broth-laden soup dumplings. It also serves a classic Shanghainese breakfast on weekends, including one of the city’s best renditions of salty soy milk, or xian dou jiang — perhaps the only version in the city that incorporates the pungent dried baby shrimp that Chinese and Taiwanese expats crave.

Open in Google Maps

3641 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eater SF (@eater_sf) on Apr 16, 2017 at 1:12pm PDT

Terra Cotta Warrior 老家陕西

Head to this Outer Sunset gem for Shaanxi cuisine, which many Americans became acquainted with thanks to Xian Famous Foods in New York. The menu’s highlights include lots of lamb dishes; stretchy, semi-translucent cold noodles (or mian pi); and the meat-stuffed sandwiches known as rou jia mo, or “Chinese burgers.”

2555 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Sichuan mian-pi at Terra Cotta Warrior

Yuanbao Jiaozi 元寶餃子

Yuanbao Jiaozi is all about the dumplings, freshly made by hand, boiled, and served straight-up or in soup. The wonderfully textured wrappers hold a variety of delicate fillings, like fish with green pepper or shrimp with zucchini. The restaurant is now offering bags of frozen dumplings as well.

Open in Google Maps

2110 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

The outside of a building. — Yuanbao holds up even amongst Irving Street’s numerous dumpling favorites.

Also featured in:

18 Restaurants for Juicy Dumplings in San Francisco

Peking Restaurant

A recent addition to the San Francisco Legacy Business Registry, this Sunset District restaurant has held it down for members of the Chinese American community in the city for decades. There are plenty of punchy dishes to choose from — whether it be cumin lamb or boiled won ton in chili oil — but Supervisor Gordon Mar elected the business for the registry due also to its stalwart representations of Chinese living and history on the walls.

Open in Google Maps

1375 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

The sign of a restaurant. — Peking Restaurant is a Sunset District staple.

House of Pancakes 餡餅之家

This no-frills northern Chinese spot in Parkside specializes in flaky scallion- and sesame seed–flecked pancakes, often rolled up with thinly sliced beef or scrambled eggs. It’s a carb-fest here: the dumplings and hand-pulled noodles are also pretty great.

Open in Google Maps

937 Taraval, San Francisco, CA 94116

Exterior of House of Pancakes

Mamahuhu 馬馬虎虎

Chef Brandon Jew’s most casual and accessible restaurant yet is this counter-service operation in the Inner Richmond that specializes in Chinese-American takeout classics: sweet-and-sour chicken, beef and broccoli, and egg rolls. Every dish is made with well-sourced ingredients, abundant vegetables, and precise Chinese technique — which means that chicken, for instance, isn’t cloyingly sweet and has a satisfying crunch.

Open in Google Maps

517 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118

Visit Website

Jade fried rice at Mamahuhu

Also featured in:

Beijing Restaurant 北京小館

How lucky San Francisco is to have a Beijing restaurant whose whole reason for being isn’t its Peking duck? Instead, regulars at this Excelsior mainstay mostly come for the kitchen’s northern Chinese dough-based dishes: chewy hand-made noodles; big, Beijing-style crepes and pancakes; and little stir-fried flour balls.

Open in Google Maps

1801 Alemany Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94112

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Dumpling Home

Trendy Hayes Valley has not previously had a reputation for destination-worthy Chinese food, but this spot is worth a special visit for its freshly handmade, supremely soupy xiao long bao, and crispy-bottomed vegetable dumplings. The xiao long bao, in particular, are available in six different versions, including one filled with numbingly spicy broth.

Open in Google Maps

298 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

A bamboo steamer full of xiao long bao

Also featured in:

Hing Lung Company 興隆燒臘肉食公司

This Cantonese barbecue shop’s crackly-skinned roast pig and succulent, honey-brushed char siu — served either on its own or as part of a rice plate — make for some of the most luxurious bites in the city. For most of Hing Lung’s existence, delivery was never an option, but during the pandemic, co-owner Eric Cheung signed onto delivery apps under the moniker Go Duck Yourself, though of course customers can still walk up and order takeout.

Open in Google Maps

1261 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eric Cheung (@hing_lung_co._sf) on Aug 9, 2019 at 2:21pm PDT

Also featured in:

China Live

The casual first-floor market restaurant in George Chen’s massive, multi-venue complex is known for customer favorites like its crisp-bottomed sheng jian bao and its Peking duck sesame pockets.

The rest of the menu offers everything from fried scallion bread and butter garlic noodles to Dongbei-style long potstickers. While you’re there, might as well stock up on housemade condiments.

644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Beef noodle soup at China Live

Also featured in:

Mister Jiu's

Chef Brandon Jew’s ambitious Chinese-American restaurant in the heart of Chinatown continues to shine, retaining its status as the only Michelin-starred Chinatown restaurant in 2021. Though Jew has gone on to introduce a number of new projects, from spinoffs to a cookbook, Mister Jiu’s is the original favorite for a roast duck platter with peanut butter hoisin, sea urchin cheong fun, and squid ink wontons.

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

A mid-century inspired dining room with an open kitchen, potted plants, and tables with lazy susans built in

Also featured in:

Empress by Boon

If you’re in the mood for a high-end option, the opulent Empress by Boon is more than willing to oblige. It’s the first solo project for chef Ho Chee Boon and bills itself as modern Cantonese food located at the historic Empress of China banquet hall in Chinatown. It is a special occasion spot, to be sure, with a changing prix fixe menu — and yes, a dress code — but it is an unmatched pairing between upscale Cantonese, views of the city, and an impressive dining room to boot.

Open in Google Maps

838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

Strawberry egg tart at Empress by Boon

Also featured in:

Great Eastern Restaurant

A fan favorite in Jackson Square, Great Eastern offers hungry customers dozens of dishes to choose from. The dim sum menu alone is mighty, with competitively-priced chicken claw and custard balls. But there’s also a tremendous bean curd seafood combo clay pot meal, snow pea sprouts with ham broth, and, gratefully, all kinds of fried rice and chow mein to work through, too.

Open in Google Maps

649 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

The outside of a building. — Oft-slept on, never misses.

Sam Wo Restaurant 三和粥粉麺

The iconic, century-old restaurant — the self-proclaimed “oldest restaurant in Chinatown” — is still open and serving bowls of fish jook, tomato beef chow mein, barbecue pork noodle rolls, and raw fish salad with preserved vegetables to its loyal customers.

713 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

Exterior sign at Sam Wo

Also featured in:

Harborview Restaurant & Bar 凱悅匯

Run by members of the R&G Lounge crew, Harborview is more than just a swanky banquet space with views of the water. It’s also serving some of the tastiest dim sum in the city, turning out consistently solid versions of all the standards, from har gow to siu mai to baked barbecue pork buns. The restaurant has an extensive takeout menu that includes dim sum, family-style entrees and prix-fixe meals, and even live Dungeness crab.

Open in Google Maps

4 Embarcadero Center, Street Level, San Francisco, CA 94111

Visit Website

Also featured in:

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Hakka Restaurant 客家山莊

4401 Cabrillo St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Often described as a kind of soulful cousin to Cantonese food, the cuisine of China’s migratory Hakka people abounds with pickled vegetables and slow-cooked meats. This homey Outer Richmond restaurant is a great place to get hooked on these rustic, comforting flavors. Must-order dishes include salt-baked chicken, clams stir-fried with basil, and braised pork belly with shrimp paste.

Open in Google Maps

4401 Cabrillo St, San Francisco, CA 94121

The outside of a restaurant. — Hakka Restaurant doesn’t mess around when it comes to braised pork belly.

Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant 老北京

3132 Vicente St, San Francisco, CA 94116

On cold nights prior to the pandemic, many of the regulars who’d crowd the small, scruffy dining room at Old Mandarin Islamic would order one of the spicy Beijing-style hot pots. In general, the restaurant, which specializes in Chinese Muslim cuisine, is a great place to feast on lamb — stir-fried with cumin, braised, or boiled in a clay pot. Chili-heads will want to test their endurance against the side dish/condiment known as la si ni, or “spice you to death.”

Open in Google Maps

3132 Vicente St, San Francisco, CA 94116

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Old Mandarin Islamic Rest (@oldmandarinislamic) on Apr 26, 2020 at 6:13pm PDT

Shanghai House Restaurant 家家福

3641 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

San Francisco is gifted with an abundance of solid Shanghainese restaurants, and Shanghai House is one of the most consistently enjoyable, known for its steamers of thin-skinned, appropriately broth-laden soup dumplings. It also serves a classic Shanghainese breakfast on weekends, including one of the city’s best renditions of salty soy milk, or xian dou jiang — perhaps the only version in the city that incorporates the pungent dried baby shrimp that Chinese and Taiwanese expats crave.

Open in Google Maps

3641 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eater SF (@eater_sf) on Apr 16, 2017 at 1:12pm PDT

Terra Cotta Warrior 老家陕西

2555 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Head to this Outer Sunset gem for Shaanxi cuisine, which many Americans became acquainted with thanks to Xian Famous Foods in New York. The menu’s highlights include lots of lamb dishes; stretchy, semi-translucent cold noodles (or mian pi); and the meat-stuffed sandwiches known as rou jia mo, or “Chinese burgers.”

2555 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Sichuan mian-pi at Terra Cotta Warrior

Yuanbao Jiaozi 元寶餃子

2110 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Yuanbao Jiaozi is all about the dumplings, freshly made by hand, boiled, and served straight-up or in soup. The wonderfully textured wrappers hold a variety of delicate fillings, like fish with green pepper or shrimp with zucchini. The restaurant is now offering bags of frozen dumplings as well.

Open in Google Maps

2110 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

The outside of a building. — Yuanbao holds up even amongst Irving Street’s numerous dumpling favorites.

Peking Restaurant

1375 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

A recent addition to the San Francisco Legacy Business Registry, this Sunset District restaurant has held it down for members of the Chinese American community in the city for decades. There are plenty of punchy dishes to choose from — whether it be cumin lamb or boiled won ton in chili oil — but Supervisor Gordon Mar elected the business for the registry due also to its stalwart representations of Chinese living and history on the walls.

Open in Google Maps

1375 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Visit Website

The sign of a restaurant. — Peking Restaurant is a Sunset District staple.

House of Pancakes 餡餅之家

937 Taraval, San Francisco, CA 94116

This no-frills northern Chinese spot in Parkside specializes in flaky scallion- and sesame seed–flecked pancakes, often rolled up with thinly sliced beef or scrambled eggs. It’s a carb-fest here: the dumplings and hand-pulled noodles are also pretty great.

Open in Google Maps

937 Taraval, San Francisco, CA 94116

Exterior of House of Pancakes

Mamahuhu 馬馬虎虎

517 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118

Chef Brandon Jew’s most casual and accessible restaurant yet is this counter-service operation in the Inner Richmond that specializes in Chinese-American takeout classics: sweet-and-sour chicken, beef and broccoli, and egg rolls. Every dish is made with well-sourced ingredients, abundant vegetables, and precise Chinese technique — which means that chicken, for instance, isn’t cloyingly sweet and has a satisfying crunch.

Open in Google Maps

517 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118

Visit Website

Jade fried rice at Mamahuhu

Beijing Restaurant 北京小館

1801 Alemany Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94112

How lucky San Francisco is to have a Beijing restaurant whose whole reason for being isn’t its Peking duck? Instead, regulars at this Excelsior mainstay mostly come for the kitchen’s northern Chinese dough-based dishes: chewy hand-made noodles; big, Beijing-style crepes and pancakes; and little stir-fried flour balls.

Open in Google Maps

1801 Alemany Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94112

Visit Website

Dumpling Home

298 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Trendy Hayes Valley has not previously had a reputation for destination-worthy Chinese food, but this spot is worth a special visit for its freshly handmade, supremely soupy xiao long bao, and crispy-bottomed vegetable dumplings. The xiao long bao, in particular, are available in six different versions, including one filled with numbingly spicy broth.

Open in Google Maps

298 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Visit Website

A bamboo steamer full of xiao long bao

Hing Lung Company 興隆燒臘肉食公司

1261 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133

This Cantonese barbecue shop’s crackly-skinned roast pig and succulent, honey-brushed char siu — served either on its own or as part of a rice plate — make for some of the most luxurious bites in the city. For most of Hing Lung’s existence, delivery was never an option, but during the pandemic, co-owner Eric Cheung signed onto delivery apps under the moniker Go Duck Yourself, though of course customers can still walk up and order takeout.

Open in Google Maps

1261 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eric Cheung (@hing_lung_co._sf) on Aug 9, 2019 at 2:21pm PDT

China Live

644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

The casual first-floor market restaurant in George Chen’s massive, multi-venue complex is known for customer favorites like its crisp-bottomed sheng jian bao and its Peking duck sesame pockets.

The rest of the menu offers everything from fried scallion bread and butter garlic noodles to Dongbei-style long potstickers. While you’re there, might as well stock up on housemade condiments.

644 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

Beef noodle soup at China Live

Mister Jiu's

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Chef Brandon Jew’s ambitious Chinese-American restaurant in the heart of Chinatown continues to shine, retaining its status as the only Michelin-starred Chinatown restaurant in 2021. Though Jew has gone on to introduce a number of new projects, from spinoffs to a cookbook, Mister Jiu’s is the original favorite for a roast duck platter with peanut butter hoisin, sea urchin cheong fun, and squid ink wontons.

28 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

A mid-century inspired dining room with an open kitchen, potted plants, and tables with lazy susans built in

Empress by Boon

838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108

If you’re in the mood for a high-end option, the opulent Empress by Boon is more than willing to oblige. It’s the first solo project for chef Ho Chee Boon and bills itself as modern Cantonese food located at the historic Empress of China banquet hall in Chinatown. It is a special occasion spot, to be sure, with a changing prix fixe menu — and yes, a dress code — but it is an unmatched pairing between upscale Cantonese, views of the city, and an impressive dining room to boot.

Open in Google Maps

838 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

Strawberry egg tart at Empress by Boon

Great Eastern Restaurant

649 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94133

A fan favorite in Jackson Square, Great Eastern offers hungry customers dozens of dishes to choose from. The dim sum menu alone is mighty, with competitively-priced chicken claw and custard balls. But there’s also a tremendous bean curd seafood combo clay pot meal, snow pea sprouts with ham broth, and, gratefully, all kinds of fried rice and chow mein to work through, too.

Open in Google Maps

649 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94133

Visit Website

The outside of a building. — Oft-slept on, never misses.

Related Maps

Sam Wo Restaurant 三和粥粉麺

713 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

The iconic, century-old restaurant — the self-proclaimed “oldest restaurant in Chinatown” — is still open and serving bowls of fish jook, tomato beef chow mein, barbecue pork noodle rolls, and raw fish salad with preserved vegetables to its loyal customers.

713 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

Visit Website

Exterior sign at Sam Wo

Harborview Restaurant & Bar 凱悅匯

4 Embarcadero Center, Street Level, San Francisco, CA 94111

Run by members of the R&G Lounge crew, Harborview is more than just a swanky banquet space with views of the water. It’s also serving some of the tastiest dim sum in the city, turning out consistently solid versions of all the standards, from har gow to siu mai to baked barbecue pork buns. The restaurant has an extensive takeout menu that includes dim sum, family-style entrees and prix-fixe meals, and even live Dungeness crab.

Open in Google Maps

4 Embarcadero Center, Street Level, San Francisco, CA 94111

Visit Website

Related Maps