Yank Sing - Just off Market & 1st and other San Francisco, CA Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Yank Sing

I had heard from numerous sources that Yank Sing was one of the best dim sum spots in San Francisco, but also kind of trendy and expensive, so I was prepared for about anything. It took me a little while to find their secluded location a half block off market, so I Was extra hungry when we arrived. Upon entering I was immediately greeted by the hostess and seated near the street-side windows.

We started with green tea and a bottle of sparkling water, then the dim sum began to arrive, and there was a cart back at our table every 3 or 4 minutes without fail. They had a little of all the standard dishes, and I thought each was excellent. We ate only the steamed foods plus a tasty plate of Szechuan chicken, but the veggies, rice, desserts, and even the whole roasted duck being wheeled about the room looked awesome.

The only drawback at Yank Sing? The prices.... our bill for about five or six dishes plus tea and water came to $45 with taxes. Similar dim sum meals for two in other cities usually cost me $15 or $20. Even in touristy Chinatown we've been able to find dim sum for as low as $2-$3 a dish for very tasty food. Yank Sing is expensive!


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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 541-4949
Address: 49 Stevenson Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Directions: One block South of Market on Stephenson between 1st and 2nd
Website: http://www.yanksing.com

Izzy's Steakhouse has been in operation since 1930 and is named after a famous local bartender. We had dinner at Izzy's one Sunday afternoon in July 2007. The restaurant has an older, more casual feel, but the steaks are great and the side dishes excellent. Their steak options are pretty limited but cover the essentials such as New York sirloin and filet mignon. Non-steak options include veal, pork, lamb, crab cakes and swordfish. Prices for dinners range from about $18 to $30. Izzy's is known almost as much for its unique sides as for its steaks, as they offer Izzy's own potatoes, creamed spinach, french fries, steamed broccoli, and more.

We sat in the very back corner of the restaurant where it was dark, cozy, and uncomfortably hot. We had several meals including the lamb chops, filet, and sirloin with a starter of calamari. The service and food were excellent, especially considering the reasonable prices.

Rated by AOL as San Francisco's fourth best steakhouse.


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Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-563-0487
Address: 3345 Steiner St, San Francisco
Directions: Marina area, just east of the Presidio
Website: http://www.themenupage.com/izzys.html

Rogue is a popular west coast brewery founded in Oregon with a great location in San Francisco's North Beach. I stopped in for dinner and a few beers during the USC Trojans game and enjoyed the bar, where the bartender, Conrad, is actually the manager of this branch. I had the halibut fish and chips ($13.50), which was tasty, but really nothing special. The thing that makes this place interesting is the beer...the bartender was happy to give you samples and recommend different beers based on your taste to make sure you got the perfect beer. Really cool. I had about three pints, but also at least five samples of various beers that I'd never tasted before. With 43 beers on tap you'll certainly find something you'll like.

My meal with three beers was $30, as Rogue is pretty expensive. On the menu you will find $14 burgers, $13 salads, but for some reason must dinners are under $15. I think the beers were around $4.50 each.

Happy hour runs from 3pm to 5pm and again 10pm to midnight, Monday through Friday.


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Theme: Pub/Brewery
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-362-7880
Address: 673 Union Street
Directions: North Beach Area
Website: http://www.rogue.com/locations-sanfran.html

One Saturday we were in San Francisco and had an very busy afternoon in the Mission District, Chinatown, North Beach & Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, then SoMa. As dinner time approached we stopped by our hotel to freshen up and ended up taking a long nap. So when we woke up at 11pm we were starving and curious if we could get any food. Our first two options -- room service and the quickie mart across the street for Ramen -- just didn't interest me at all, so we began searching the internet for nearby late-night food. And that's how we ended up at Oola, just blocks from our hotel.

Oola and its immediate neighbors form a little late-night oasis in SoMa long after many other restaurants close. As we approached Oola we noticed the Asian restaurant next door was open, as were a few casual bars. Outside Oola is a simple sign and tall two-story windows to go with the gigantic two-story glass and aluminum door that swung amazingly easily. Inside the packed bar we were greeted with some techno dance beats maybe just a little too loud for a restaurant, a little too quiet for a club. The place was packed and we made our way to the last little table for two way in the back by the kitchen.

Our service was quick and professional, each waiter with their own unique European accent. We glanced over the menus and ordered a draft Tiger beer ($5) and a pitcher of tap water in a classy glass container. Laura quickly decided on the hamburger with avacado ($15) and I finally settled on the appetizer half rack of baby back ribs ($14). Laura's burger came with fried potatoes with parmesan & truffle oil... a very interesting and fragrant combination! I will say I was disappointed with ribs, not because their cilantro, ginger and soy glaze wasn't spectacular or the meat wasn't tender and juicy... no, its flavor was excellent; unfortunately their idea of a half rack of baby back ribs means exactly three ribs with a small side of red cabbage-apple slaw.

Overall this is a trendy, hip place with creative but way overpriced food. My favorite aspect of the restaurant is its late dining hours that gives you an option other than a diner or pizza joint.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-995-2061
Address: 860 Folsom Street, San Francisco
Website: http://www.oola-sf.com/
Other Contact: reservations@oola-sf.com

B44 is a Catalan restaurant nestled in the middle of San Francisco's Little French Quarter district at Belden Place. We had dinner at this crowded alley during our Bastille Day celebration in July 2007. The area and this restaurant were packed for this pseudo-holiday, and it took us a few hours to even get a table here at B44, one of the few non-French places on this tiny street. We stood at the bar for 45 minutes or so, then finally got a large table for seven back in the corner near the restrooms. Most of us had one of the paella rice dishes for dinner, each of which contained a variety of meats and vegetables in a small cast iron pan for an expensive price of around $25. The meals were tasty, but expensive considering the small portions.

B44 has an average sized bar and plenty of outdoor patio seating with heat lamps.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: 44 Belden Palce, San Francisco

Chef Jia's is a simple, no-nonsense Hunan & Mandarin restaurant with great food at a good price. They have Chinese beers including Tsingtao and wine by the glass to go with their large selection of Chinese food. I had some good Szechuan beef with string beans for around $8 and the imported beer was just $2.75.

I ended up here because several of the neighboring Hunan restaurants were packed with people waiting outside. Turns out this place has won numerous award and has some of the best Chinese in the city. Though not standing room only like the others, almost all of the tables here were full, even though there are only about 10 of them!


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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 398-1626
Address: 925 Kearny St
Directions: At Columbus, Kearny & Pacific, one block from Grant Street

We were wandering Chinatown late in the evening on a Sunday after most of the shops, and many of the restaurants had closed for the day. Our objective was to find a relatively busy restaurant but not too touristy, my favorite signals for a good restaurant. Great Oriental fit the bill on both counts, as the signs out front were mostly in Chinese and the inside was packed with a very large crowd. We were seated near the door, which was bad due to the very cold breeze that blew through the restaurant. They have a big menu with mostly Mandarin dishes, and we chose the set dinner that was $12 per person--kind of expensive for Chinese food, but it offered the best variety of dishes including hot and sour soup, fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, and pork lo mein. The food came out quickly and we really enjoyed our meal, but then the waitress never came back for anything, not even to bring the bill. We were planning to take the left overs with us, but she was so slow, we decided not to even wait for a box. After finally flagging down a different waitress, we paid and left.

Overall, the food was good and in large quantities, but the service was painful.


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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 398-3691
Address: 848 Washington St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Directions: A half block uphill from Grant, the main street through Chinatown.
Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/bDZ3OkAUP_3CT9wugXDZsA?utm_campaign=local&utm_medium=organic&hrid=DJ6twybVV6bK3Jl1Oji86g

Turtle Tower is one of the most popular and best restaurants in Little Saigon. When we visited, the place was packed with local Vietnamese residents, so we knew it would be OK and relatively cheap. We each had pho for around $5-6 per bowl, and it had plenty of noodles and meat for our taste. A dash of the Vietnamese hot sauce and I was in heaven. Turtle Tower is decorated with paintings of it namesake, Hanoi's "Tortoise Tower".

The restaurant is relatively small, with maybe 10-15 tables, and all were full during most of the lunch rush. They do have a separate dining room just down Willow Street just 20 feet from the main entrance.

Favorite Dish: You can't go wrong with any of their 20-some varieties of Pho.

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Theme: Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-409-3333
Address: 631 Larkin Street
Directions: Corner of Larkin and Willow Streets in Little Saigon
Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/HWFsLNVMfjyBLff4MpW00g

Restaurant Name: Buena Vista Cafe

The best $6.75 coffee I've ever had...Buena Vista's Irish coffee is outstanding made with fresh coffee, two sugar cubes, Irish whiskey, and topped with milky foam. According to the plaque outside, America's first Irish coffee was made here in 1952. This is a very popular spot for tourists as it is within view of the water and near tourist areas such as Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street, and North Beach.


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Theme: Coffeehouse
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: 2765 Hyde Street

We stopped in late one morning for breakfast and enjoyed omelets with potatoes, toast, and coffee for about $15 per person. Though we had the standard dishes, they were very creative with the toppings, such as the Sonoma omelet with gouda cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and chicken sausage inside the tasty egg. My only complaints were the toast was a dry and hard as I have ever tasted, and the coffee mediocre. It's somewhat expensive for breakfast, but I'm giving them an extra star for creativity.

For lunch and dinner, Persimmon Cafe specializes in Mediterranean dishes.


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Theme: Breakfast
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 433-5525
Address: 582 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94101
Directions: Just a few blocks from Union Square