House of Nanking
Good for: food, Solo Travellers, Groups, atmosphere, Budget Travellers
Not good for: service, atmosphere, food
- Address
- 919 Kearny St
- Transport
- Phone
- 415-421-1429
- Price
- mains $7-14
- Hours
- 11am-10pm Mon-Fri, from noon Sat, noon-9pm Sun
Lonely Planet review for House of Nanking
Meekly suggest seafood, nothing deep-fried, perhaps some poultry - and your server nods, snatches the menu, and returns within minutes with meltaway scallops, minced squab lettuce cups and a tea ball that blossoms in water. Come prepared to wait, and bearing cash.
Traveller reviews for House of Nanking (4)
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Bit of a rip-off for Chinatown
vandelayindustries recommends this,
I went here on my first full day, whilst I was still clinging to my guidebook for dear life.
Get here early for lunch, I arrived at 12 on the dot and in around 15 minutes the place was rammed, mainly with fellow tourists.
Service was terse and they cocked up my order. My coke wasn't brought out but was on the bill. I asked to take it off the bill but instead they brought out a coke for me. I couldn't be bothered to argue but was not overly impressed.
The food was delicious but ludicrously over-priced for what it was. And lo and behold I found lots of much cheaper places after some exploration of the area.
Moral of the story: ditch the guidebook when it comes to eating out in Chinatown and rely on serendipity.
Good for: food, Groups, Solo Travellers
Not good for: service
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One to avoid
sydpopsicle does not recommend this,
Don't be fooled by the queues - we were.
Usually a reliable indicator of quality, the crowd was probably more a result of guidebook recommendations. Having the staff order for you is one thing, having the dishes you ordered switched to something else without choice or consultation is not acceptable. Market greens were swapped to snap sugar pea salad, and steamed scallops to fried fish. Protesting did nothing to get the dishes changed to what we actually wanted - at first we were told there was a mistake, then that there were no scallops. No apology, no discount. The housemade noodles was the only dish of the three we ordered that actually arrived. All dishes were sweet and oily, and impossible to finish. Three dishes and two beers cost US$44, so not exactly cheap.
This food does not resemble Shanghai cuisine that my partner and I have sampled in both China and in Sydney's Chinatown. Poor food is sometimes offset by good service but this place can't even boast that. We would not recommend future inclusion of this restaurant in your guidebook.
Not good for: atmosphere, food, service
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Tourist Trap
simonblake recommends this,
You would be better advised going a few blocks west to a real place in Chinatown, this place is really for people who think they are eating in Chinatown. Owner is not the most reputable as he put an additional meal on our bill and then argued that we asked for it - not the most honest shall we say.
Food was good howver.
Good for: atmosphere, food, Budget Travellers, Solo Travellers
Not good for: service
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Gooooooooddddd!!!!
dropthesci recommends this,
This place is good... Real good. However I think it is on every must eat list in San Francisco because the wait can be so long they have a velvet rope on the side walk to keep the line from spilling over into the street. Everything is good here, and for the adventurous, ask the owner what's good and he'll whip you up that night's specials. The servers can be curt and the seating tight, however how accomidating must you be when the line is always down the block.
Good for: food, Solo Travellers
Not good for: service
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