San Francisco's Chinatown was established in 1848. Benjamin Heath for Lonely Planet
Established in 1848, San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest of its kind in North America. It hosts the largest Lunar New Year parade outside of Asia, has a constant influx of stunning public art, and is seeing a renovation of the iconic Portsmouth Square – “Chinatown’s living room.” Stalwarts like restaurant Sam Wo (with its famous rude waiter) have shuttered, but many longtime businesses are still around, plus a new crop of restaurants and shops run by younger Asian Americans. My connection to the neighborhood runs deep: my grandparents owned a Chinatown gift shop in the 1950s and 1960s, my parents had their wedding banquet in the neighborhood, and I grew up visiting for family dinners and festivals. I now take my toddler there, hoping she’ll gain the same fond memories.
Where to stay
Save: ITH San Francisco Pacific Tradewinds Backpacker Hostel is one of the few places in SF where you can stay for about $50/night. For a budget-friendly hotel, try Orchard Garden, a slightly dated, but green and clean option right by the Dragon Gate on Bush St.
Spend: The 100-plus-year-old Hotel Triton on Grant Ave just south of the Dragon Gate, got a contemporary boutique makeover in 2018, complete with marble bathrooms and luxury linens. It’s also pet-friendly.
Spend More: The Ritz-Carlton oozes opulence. On the Stockton St border between Nob Hill and Chinatown, be transported to the Gilded Age in the 1909 Neoclassical building, with a fancy seasonal afternoon tea, to boot.
Where to get coffee, boba and tea in Chinatown
Lady Luck Cafe: Made-to-order Hong Kong milk tea, mango sago with coconut milk, and fresh watermelon juice are just some of the offerings at this revamped boba shop.
Hi Sweetie Tea and Treats: The cutest boba shop if there ever was one, with tons of stuffed animals plus signature drinks like avocado sago and silky milk curd with peach gum.
Plentea: Local boba chain that serves fresh fruit teas topped with cheese cream, and classic milk tea in signature reusable glass bottles.
Home Coffee Roasters: The Chinatown branch of a local SF coffee chain satisfies sweet tooths with a rainbow birthday cake latte and a cinnamon-heavy churro latte.
Vital Tea Leaf: Reserve or walk in for a proper and humorous tea tasting, and snag hard-to-find varieties like cacao nib-infused pu-erh. You’ll probably bump into tour groups doing tastings as well.
Where to eat in Chinatown
Breakfast
AA Bakery & Cafe: Family-owned since 2006, enjoy crackly-topped, sweet-salty barbecue pork pineapple buns and creamy, crispy egg tarts among the neighborhood regulars reading the paper.
VIP Coffee & Cake Shop: A legacy business that’s been around since 1985, VIP is a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style diner), serving huge plates like cheesy baked seafood over spaghetti.
G&Y Bakery Restaurant: A cha chaan teng with warming breakfasts like chicken rice porridge, plus a full Cantonese food menu including comforting clay pot rice and stir-fried bitter melon with beef.
Eastern Bakery: For a late breakfast, head to the iconic bakery for year-round, slightly sweet and filling mooncakes, plus a slice of the famous coffee crunch cake.
Golden Gate Bakery: This is the holy grail of dan taat (egg custard tarts) that even has a dedicated Facebook page for its hard-to-determine opening hours. Wait in line. Cash only.
Dim sum
Hang Ah Tea Room: Duck into Pagoda Place alleyway to the oldest dim sum parlor in the US – open since 1920 – for har gow (shrimp dumplings) and historic memorabilia on the wall.
Good Mong Kok Bakery: For takeout dim sum open early, brave the line for fluffy, crispy scallion pancakes and succulent pork siu mai.
City View Restaurant: Classic dim sum restaurant reborn in a new space with comfortable chartreuse booths, offering pan-fried turnip cakes and soft beef rice noodle rolls.
Lai Hong Lounge: The family-run Cantonese restaurant has added all the cute animal-shaped dumplings, buns and more – like swan-shaped durian puffs and a full-size fish-shaped mango pudding.
Osmanthus Dim Sum Lounge: A relative newcomer for fancy-ish dim sum just into neighboring North Beach. Go for chicken and jicama dumplings and delicate oyster and egg fried rice. Open through dinner.
Lunch
Hon’s Wun-Tun House: Handmade shrimp-and-pork wontons swimming in hot soup since 1972 – add noodles and barbecued meats like char siu (glazed pork). A bigger second location lies across Portsmouth Square.
Z&Y: Numbing Sichuan peppercorns and chili oil dominate here. The Fish Filet w/ Flaming Chili Oil is no joke. Also consider sister restaurant Z&Y Peking Duck; reserve ahead for duck orders.
Fusion Dumpling: Sit down for hefty xiao long bao (soup dumplings), Peking duck potstickers, and crab meat lo mein worth ordering for the presentation alone.
New Lun Ting Cafe: Also referred to as Pork Chop House, this old-school Chinese American diner’s specialty is the pork chop plate – smothered chops, rice, boiled cabbage, corn and a potsticker. Cash only.
Outta Sight Pizza II: The Chinatown outpost of this pizza spot offers an exclusive Peking duck grandma slice with tea-smoked duck, crispy fried shallots, sweet hoisin sauce and fresh cilantro.
Dinner
Four Kings: Named Restaurant of the Year in 2024 by Esquire, the wildly popular, elevated Hong Kong diner does its food right with crispy fried squab and creative mapo spaghetti.
R&G Lounge: Classic SF Chinatown spot for salt-and-pepper crab and lobster over yee mein.
Mister Jiu’s: The only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in America serves up seasonal Californian ingredients with Cantonese technique, like wok-charred squid with kohlrabi, ramps, and Chengdu chili.
Capital Restaurant: Go to the longtime, super casual eatery for the zippy, deep-fried salt-and-pepper chicken wings topped with sliced jalapeños.
Empress by Boon: In the historic former Empress of China spot with amazing city views, Chef Ho Chee Boon of Hakkasan fame presents fine-dining Cantonese with seasonal tasting menus.
Best things to do in Chinatown
Chinese Historical Society of America: A dynamic museum in a historical, Julia Morgan-designed building has exhibits on topics from Chinese laundries to Bruce Lee (through spring 2027).
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory: In the narrow Ross Alley, stop in to see fortune cookies folded by hand. There are plenty of free samples and novel treats like matcha-drizzled fortune cookies.
Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco: Covering art of the Chinese diaspora, go for timely exhibits from queer artists to disability artists. CCC also has a great gift shop.
Smaller galleries and museums: For edgy exhibits from local Asian American artists, check out 41 Ross and Edge on the Square. The Showgirl Magic Museum documents Chinatown’s swinging nightclub heyday from the 1940s to the 1970s. For colossal public art, explore the levels of the Rose Pak - Chinatown MUNI station, part of SF's Central Subway system that debuted in 2023.
Where to shop in Chinatown
On Waverly: The gift and book shop belongs to the wave of younger Chinese and Asian Americans keeping Chinatown pulsing, from offering children’s books about dumplings to pantry staples like Rooted Fare’s crunchy black sesame butter, plus programming like Chinese food March Madness.
Chinatown Kite Shop: A gem among the Grant Avenue tourist shops (which are surprisingly good for retro SF T-shirt designs, like at City Gifts and Canton Bazaar) that actually carries kites – from ladybug to tiger designs – plus child-friendly wares like handheld drums.
New Asia Supermarket: Shop for bok choy and haw flake candy under crystal chandeliers. This grocery store, one of Chinatown’s largest, was once a bustling banquet hall that pivoted during the pandemic and still has its gold-tiled, circular moon gate entryways.
Abacus Row: This classy showroom on the Nob Hill-Chinatown border carries fine, delicate, beaded jewelry crafted in the on-site production workshop, plus a curated selection of accessories and homewares.
Where to spend a night out in Chinatown
Li Po Lounge: (In)famously strong “Chinese mai tais” are dangerously sweet here, and one of the late Anthony Bourdain’s favorites.
Buddha Lounge: Selling beer in signature green Buddha-shaped bottles, Buddha Lounge is a lower-key option to neighboring Li Po. If you’re feeling lucky, play a game of dice with the saucy bartender.
Great Star Theater: The oldest Chinese theater in the US pays tribute to its roots with Chinese opera performances, 1990s Wong-Kar Wai films, and contemporary shows like Dark Kabaret performances.
Moongate Lounge: Moody sister bar and listening lounge above Mister Jiu’s with rotating cocktails in accordance with the Chinese agrarian calendar, like the summer cocktail Awakening of Insects featuring gin, benedictine, fennel and bee pollen.
Bow Bow Cocktail Lounge: A small, narrow dive bar with karaoke in front of other patrons will make for a night to remember (or forget in a haze).