Oldest Tea Room in San Francisco and other San Francisco, CA Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Hang Ah Tea Room

You would probably never see the Hang Ah Tea Room unless you were actively looking for it; it's a tiny, no-frills basement restaurant tucked in next to the playground and tennis courts. It's the oldest tea room in San Francisco.

It was renovated in 2004, and the dark, cavernous look has been replaced with bright lights and neon colors, but I was relieved to see that the photos of Chinatown beauty queens -- white gowns and lacquered hairdos -- are still there.

In my opinion, Hang Ah offers a more authentic Chinatown experience than the fancier restaurants: you’ll find more locals than tourists here.

Favorite Dish: Go for a dim sum lunch between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

Hang Ah formerly served dim sum (Chinese hors d'oeuvres) the traditional way: the wait staff brought trays of pork buns, shrimp dumplings, spring rolls, and other savory tidbits to the table, and you chose the ones you wanted. The bill was figured by the number of serving plates.

Recently, however, the restaurant has gone modern, and you now have to order dim sum from the menu, as you would all the other dishes. It's more practical, I suppose, but much less charming.

They still make the best char siu bau (barbecue pork buns) in Chinatown, and they're full-sized, not the mini-buns that some dim sum restaurants serve. Order extras to take with you for a late-afternoon snack. My family also likes the vegetarian spring rolls and foil-wrapped chicken, and the sweet custard buns are ambrosial.

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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-982-5686
Address: 1 Pagoda Place
Directions: Chinatown - Sacramento Street near Stockton, 2 blocks uphill from Grant, past the Willie Wong Playground and tennis courts

Restaurant Name: The Stinking Rose

“The stinking rose” is the ancient name for garlic. Everything on the menu at this popular North Beach restaurant has garlic in it. Cuisine is California-Italian.

It’s best to reserve a table. If you like to people-watch, request a window seat. Open 7 days a week, 11 am-11 pm.

Parking is tough in North Beach, so take a cab or public transit if you can; Muni runs right by the door. The nearest garage is on Vallejo Street, next to the police station.

Favorite Dish: The garlic mashed potatoes are wonderful. I also like the soft, roasted cloves of garlic that you spread on your bread instead of butter.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-781-ROSE
Address: 325 Columbus Avenue
Directions: North Beach, the Italian section of San Francisco
Website: www.thestinkingrose.com

Restaurant Name: Five Happiness

Five Happiness is a nice Chinese restaurant in the RIchmond District, a residential neighborhood. You won’t find any tourists here – just locals who appreciate good Chinese food.

Parking is a bit of a problem – you may have to circle the block a few times. If you're taking the bus, Muni's 38 Geary runs past here.

Favorite Dish: Everything at Five Happiness is tasty. I like the mu shu pork, lemon chicken, Mongolian beef, Mandarin scallops, and black mushrooms, snow peas, and bean curd. I also like the fact that they give you a plate of orange wedges at the end of the meal, not fortune cookies...which are not really Chinese anyway.

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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-387-1234
Address: 4142 Geary Blvd
Directions: Geary between 5th and 6th Avenues. Strangely located next to the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.

Restaurant Name: Ton Kiang

VTer jessicadf introduced me to Ton Kiang, and I've been back on my own since then. It's the best dim sum outside of Chinatown. You'll see a lot of Chinese faces here (my own included!), so you know it's not just a tourist place.

It's family-friendly; the little kids are so cute. There are high chairs available, and the atmosphere is so brisk and noisy that a crying child wouldn't be any big deal.

I also like the fact that they serve dim sum the traditional way, with the waitresses coming by your table with each new batch of this-and-that, showing you what they have in the baskets, and letting you choose. It is not cheap to eat here, but it's worth it. The nice thing about dim sum, especially if you're hungry, is that it's instant gratification: the food starts arriving the minute you sit down.

Parking in this area can be difficult. If you're a visitor, I'd advise taking the #38 Geary bus and getting off at 22nd Avenue. If you're driving, you might have to park several blocks away and walk, or circle the block a million times.

This is a very popular restaurant, and they accept reservations only if you have a party of 8 or more. On the weekend, plan to arrive by 10 am, or there will be a long line out the door.

Favorite Dish: All of the food here is wonderful; it's hard to choose one favorite dish. Ton Kiang's steamed pork buns are especially good: light and fluffy and flavorful. Their chicken shu mai (little mounds of chopped chicken and vegetables held together by a strip of noodle dough and steamed) are lovely, and so are their pork-and-ginger dumplings. My favorite desserts are the baked custard buns and fried sesame balls, which are filled with sweet bean paste.

Vegetarians should be aware that most of the dim sum dishes contain pork, chicken, or shrimp. You might have to pass up the dim sum and order an individual plate lunch.

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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 752-4440
Address: 5821 Geary Boulevard
Directions: Between 22nd and 23rd Avenues
Website: www.tonkiang.net

Restaurant Name: Mel's Drive-in

If you've seen George Lucas' film, "American Grafitti," you've seen Mel's. It's a great, fun place to grab a bite to eat, and they're open late.

There are several Mel's Drive-ins in San Francisco, but my favorite is the one on Lombard Street across from the Cow Hollow Inn.

Mel's is a 1950's style American diner: hamburgers, fries, salads. They're known for their killer milkshakes! It's a popular place, so there's sometimes a long wait for a table; you need to be patient. Ask for a table with a mini-jukebox on it, keep feeding quarters into it, and rock out to the Oldies.

From Herb Caen's column in the San Francisco Chronicle, 8/24/95:

"...Scott Gross of Calistoga... was at Mel's Drive-in the other night and waited 20 minutes to be waited on and another 15 minutes to get his order. Meanwhile, in walked the Giants' `Neon Deion' Sanders and his girlfriend, disguised in matching Alcatraz T-shirts. After waiting 15 minutes without attention, they got up and left. `If he'd held out another 5 minutes,' says Scott, `he'd have been home free. The burgers were good that night. However, my real pleasure came when I realized that in San Francisco eateries, I get the same treatment as stars like Deion Sanders. GOD, I LOVE THIS CITY!' ''

Open Sunday through Thursday: 6am--3am, Friday and Saturday: 24 hours

Favorite Dish: The last time I was there, I had a gardenburger (grilled vegetarian "burger" on a bun), French fries, and a strawberry shake.

Mel's milkshakes are like a meal in themselves, made with real ice cream and served in a tall glass with the metal shaker on the side for refills.

They make a very nice Asian-style salad and are also open for breakfast.

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Theme: Diner
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 921-3039
Address: 2165 Lombard Street
Directions: Lombard near the corner of Steiner
Website: http://www.melsdrive-in.com/

Restaurant Name: The Waterfront Cafe

The Waterfront Cafe is the more casual, first-floor level of this establishment; the more elegant Waterfront Restaurant is upstairs.

The Cafe would be a great place for a romantic tete-a-tete with your significant other -- right on the water, with a canopy ceiling and little white lights outlining the windows -- but my husband and I were here with VTers Yubert, Al (agraichen), and Claus (cachaseiro), LOL. There were even fireworks over the water, to celebrate the beginning of Fleet Week.

One caveat: take a wrap with you. The dining room is basically a glassed-in deck, open at the top, and even though the heaters are more than adequate, every now and then a strong sea breeze blows through.

Favorite Dish: I had the salmon, which was delicious: moist and tender, with a parmesan crust, served on a bed of mashed potatoes and little dabs of red and gold sauces. The New England clam chowder was good, too, and had bits of bacon in it. I was too full to consider the dessert menu, which included apple cobbler and a chocolate and vanilla sundae.

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Theme: Seafood
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 391-2696
Address: Pier 7 (Embarcadero at Broadway)
Directions: The Embarcadero, west of the Ferry Building

Restaurant Name: Home Restaurant

There are two Home Restaurants in San Francisco, but we had Sunday brunch at the one on Upper Market Street. Home cooking, good service, and a noisy, friendly atmosphere all added up to an enjoyable meal.

A feature on the menu that I've never encountered anywhere else: a make-your-own Bloody Mary. Your server gives you a tall glass containing ice and vodka and directs you to the self-service bar, where you mix the drink to your own taste.

Favorite Dish: I had the brisket hash with poached eggs. I was expecting corned beef brisket, but it was pieces of roast beef brisket fried with diced potatoes and onions. They were very accommodating when I requested no green peppers.

My companion had a short stack of banana-pecan pancakes that were light and fluffy and came with maple syrup on the side.

I'd like to go back and sample some of the other items on the menu. They also serve sandwiches and burgers.

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Theme: Diner
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 503-0333
Address: 2100 Market St (at Church)
Directions: Across the street from the Market Street Safeway
Website: www.home-sf.com

Restaurant Name: The Elite Cafe

The Elite Cafe advertises that it serves "exquisite food with the flavors of New Orleans," and as soon as I sat down, I knew that it must be true, because there were four different kinds of Tabasco sauce on the table. From my visits to New Orleans, I learned that people there take their Tabasco (a local hot sauce) seriously. Shops even sell tiny travel bottles of the stuff so that residents won't be deprived when they're away from home.

The Elite Cafe offers traditional Cajun dishes like jambalaya, gumbo, and beignets, with a California twist. This is not a budget restaurant (see website for sample menus and prices), but the food and ambience make it a good place for a "splurge" meal.

The line midday on a Sunday can be long, but we waited only 30 minutes for a sidewalk table where we could enjoy the sunshine and watch the passersby. Free entertainment, lovely weather, attentive service, yummy food -- what could be better?

Favorite Dish: I had the Cajun-style braised beef hash with poached eggs. I liked it, but if I have it again, I'll order it without the Bechemel sauce, which made it a little too rich. The fresh orange juice was good, too.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-67ELITE (415-673-5483)
Address: 2049 Fillmore Street
Directions: On Fillmore between California and Pine Streets
Website: http://www.theelitecafe.com/

Restaurant Name: Hukilau

Hankering for Hawaii? Stop by Hukilau for a taste of the Islands and some of the aloha spirit. Started by three guys from Hawaii who were homesick for plate lunches, Hukilau now has restaurants in San Francisco, San Jose, and Palo Alto.

This is not the place for a quiet, intimate conversation. It's lively and noisy, with lots of laughter and music, but it's a good place to get together with friends. It's family friendly, too -- there were three infants near us, but the adults made more noise than the babies did.

The food is probably not the same as da kine you gon' get at Tutu's house in Honolulu, but it's still "onolicious" (ono = yummy in Hawaiian) and much better than anything else you'll find on the Mainland. Enjoy live Hawaiian music in the evening -- see website for schedule.

Favorite Dish: I had the Sunday special, a traditional Hawaiian plate lunch, which was so huge that I took half of it home and had it for lunch the next day: lau lau (white fish and pork steamed in spinach-like taro leaves), kalua pig (tender, shredded roast pork), a cup of lomi lomi salmon, two scoops of rice, and a scoop of macaroni salad. I thought I'd died and gone to Island heaven.

Dessert was included in the special. That day they were out of haupia (a jello-like coconut pudding) but substituted a dense chocolate brownie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Decadent!

They also have burgers, sandwiches, salads, saimin, and Sunday brunch dishes on the menu. Drink choices include guava and pineapple juices, and local and imported beers.

We were literally too full to eat dinner that night. We'll be back. . .as soon as we're hungry again!

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-921-6242
Address: 5 Masonic Avenue
Directions: On the northwest corner of Masonic and Geary. Take the 38 Geary and get off at Masonic.
Website: http://www.dahukilau.com/
Other Contact: sf@dahukilau.com

Restaurant Name: Cafe Claude

I had lunch here with VTer royslaven (John) when he visited San Francisco, and we found the food and service to be quite good.

The only criticisms I have are unrelated to the food: 1) the tables are very close together, within elbow-bumping range, and 2) one section of the restaurant is very dark. I arrived first and was seated in that section, but I could hardly see the menu. I asked for a different table, and by the time John arrived, we had a lovely little window table. :)

Alas, there are no photos -- very un-VT. My camera was on loan to my daughter, and John didn't have his with him, either.

Favorite Dish: I had the salad nicoise, which was very tasty and contained small gold potatoes, slices of seared ahi, and tiny, savory olives. John had the chicken roti, which he ate down to the bone -- always the best review. We both opted for the carmelized coconut custard for dessert, and it was heavenly, served with little dabs of whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

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Theme: French
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 392-3505
Address: 7 Claude Lane
Directions: Near Union Square and the gateway to Chinatown.
Website: http://www.cafeclaude.com